Meteors/ shooting stars

[eulcon]

While sitting out on a deck at York Beach, Maine on Saturday night(07/29/06) I saw a meteor/ falling star. What is different about this one is I swear I heard it. For the time it was in the sky I heard the sound. It resembled what you might hear in a movie, but not as dramatic, or as loud. My daughter was out there with me. She did not see the meteor but said she heard something in that direction. Can meteors be heard? This was a first for me. <br /> I wanted to make a correction on the night I saw this as I stayed in maine for 2 nights and it was the first night that I saw and heard this. So it would have been Friday the 28th not Saturday.

 

[enigma10]

Depending on its size, it is possible.<br /><br />here is a link to a report by BBC <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>"<font color="#333399">An organism at war with itself is a doomed organism." - Carl Sagan</font></em> </div>

 

[search]

Although very uncommon it has been noticed before and one of the most ancient records of that type of phenomena dates back to 817A.D. in China.<br />Can you and your daughter describe the sound?

 

[MeteorWayne]

Just curious, was it exceptionally bright?<br />The subject of what are called electrophonic meteors is somewhat controversial, primarily because they are so rare, and following Murphy's law are seldom witnessed by experienced meteor observers <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />MeteorWayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[eulcon]

It made a low whirring sound, with a faint whistling to it. The sound came and went with the light of the meteor.

 

[eulcon]

It was brighter than most but I have seen brighter ones, but not while sitting outside. I've seen many from the cab of a truck, as a a former truck driver with an very early morning run. The brightest one I've seen was about 6 years ago as I was just outside peterborough , NH. My first thought when I saw this one was an airliner crashing because it was so bright.

 

[eulcon]

Thanks for the link. It's very interesting.<br />

 

[eulcon]

I lie awake while the meteors whispered greenly overhead..." <br /><br />-Loren Eisley <br /><br />A poetic scientist. I have not heard of Loren Eisley before, but this line makes sense to me.

 

[search]

Hello<br />Since what you witnessed its such a rare event I suggest you send a report form to the IMO (International Meteor Organization)<br />The website:<br />http://www.imo.net/<br /><br />Here is a electronic report form:<br />http://www.imo.net/visual/report/electronic<br /><br />You and your daughter are very lucky and I hope your wishes come true....<br />

 

[MeteorWayne]

That's the controversial part. Electrophonic meteors create a sound at the time of the meteor (not many minutes later as if it were sound propogation.)<br />This means that whatever the cause is, it must be an electromagnetic phenomenon, hence travelling at the speed of light. It is a challenge to explain how the meteoric energy can create enough EMF to cause a reaction hundreds of miles away. Speculation has ranged from a direct response in the brain, to some material acting as a diode detector (like an old crystal radio, for those of you who remember such things.)<br />It is a subject of current research, but as I said these are very rare events, so data to analyze is hard to come by.<br /><br />MW <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[search]

Just to realize how lucky you were:<br /><br />"Keay and Ceplecha tried to predict the average number of electrophonic sounds<br />that should be heard by a single person [10], based on data presented by Ceplecha<br />[11,12]. The prediction says that a person who would spend every night all night<br />outside has a once in a lifetime chance of hearing an electrophonic sound, with a<br />comment that this is a very optimistic prediction as today many such events would<br />be masked by man-made sounds and would pass unnoticed."<br /><br />Above from the following site:<br />http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~sgaraj/publications/Fizika-VLF.pdf<br /><br />How rare the event and reports:<br /><br />"Altogether there are 34 reports of sounds from the Leonids. One report is about the 1964 Leonids,<br />two about 1966, one about 1989, 10 about 1998, one about 2000, 17 about 2001, and two are<br />without a specific year. The sound duration is usually overestimated by the witnesses, thus<br />durations of ~3 seconds are not surprising."<br /><br />Above from the following site:<br /><br />http://www.gefsproject.org/publications/WGN_GEFS_review1.pdf<br /><br />More on the subject:<br /><br />http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~sgaraj/publications/JGR-ephones.pdf

 

[eulcon]

I can not explain that one. The sound was there for the duration of the light. Maybe the time it takes to blink twice.

 

[harmonicaman]

From the International Meteor Organization; these instructions are included with their "Fireball Reporting Form":<br /><br /><i>"Meteor sounds deserve special mention. Although they are noted only on rare occasions, they are important. The ``regular'' sounds are audible only after a few minutes have elapsed since the optical observation, as sound travels through air far slower than light. <br /><br />While recording the data described above you should be ready to listen out for these sounds. Meteor noises can reach the surface from any point of the trajectory lower than about 60 km and may consist of bangs or swishing sounds, or possibly other noises. However, there may also be noises heard synchronously with the meteor's optical appearance. <br /><br />These are certainly no hallucinations! Such anomalous sounds appear to propagate via very low frequency (VLF) radio-waves, and seem to be generated especially in the upper part of the trajectory. These waves of course propagate with the velocity of light and if there are dielectric media near the surface, such as massive objects or atmospheric electric activity, they can then be converted into sound waves (ReVelle, 1975; Annett, 1980; Keay, 1980; Knöfel, 1991; Keay, 1993); Keay and Ceplecha, 1994). <br /><br />It is essential to identify and exclude other possible sources for supposed meteor noises, for example motors, airplanes, other technical sources, or animals. According to ReVelle (1975), meteor sounds may usually only be expected if a fireball is brighter than -8 mag (visual)."</i><br /><br />I think these noises are more common than thought... <br /><br />

 

[macis]

Don’t know if anyone is still reading this thread… But, yes I agree with the above post. I have personally heard 5 of these. All of them have been heard in the Lyttelton harbour area- Governors Bay jetty and also looking out over Pura (sp?) bay in New Zealand.<br />The last one I heard was the best. It broke up into three pieces and ended with a pop and had a whooshing noise prior to that. The other ones I’ve heard have been more like whisping noises. They have been all different in brightness some hardly visible and very short, some longer… <br />From what I’ve read just tonight, it’s like winning the lottery to hear these….! Think I’m off to get a ticket… surly they can’t be that uncommon??? <br />

 

[qso1]

I was fortunate enough to hear a meteorite during a fairly spectacular Leonid I think, shower in 1998. I think its just that in rare cases, relative to the observer, the meteorite is low enough, large enough, and coming in obviously fast enough within the lower atmosphere to produce a sonic boom. And those rare cases are when the observer happens to be close enough to hear the boom.<br /><br />Thats what the one I saw the flash from, and heard sounded like it did, produce a sonic boom. I didn't see the meteorite itself as it was many miles behind me. I was looking off in one direction and saw the flash, heard the boom. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[docm]

I've heard one too. <br /><br />It went "bang" at high altitude then a piece of it crashed into our newly plowed/disced soybean field. It's now sitting on our mantel <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />Looks a lot like the Old Woman meteorite that fell in California in 1975. <br /><br />All but one edge show silver/grey metal crystals through and through. The intact edge is about 4+ square inches of one end and has the melted surface, which is chipped a bit from a rock it hit (actually; pulverized). <br /><br />5.5" x 3.5" x 2.25" and HEAVY AS HELL.<br /><br />This one came down over Michigan in 1972. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[qso1]

There ya go. I wished I knew where the one landed that I heard. It would be pretty cool to have a piece of the space rock. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[docm]

Mine looks to be far more Nickel or Chromium than Iron; no rust even after all these years, just a thin dull gray oxide coating. Never did measure its volume to get a density. Might be a good idea. <br /><br />As far as whistling sounds go I wouldn't be surprised at all. Anyone who has played upper level baseball has probably heard a fast pitched balls seams "sizzle" as it passes by, and meteorites move a lot faster and have more irregular surfaces than baseballs. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>