Around 10 pm Wednesday evening, a meteor in Wisconsin was seen going across the sky from west to east. Anybody who saw it immediately overwhelmed the emergency response phone lines saying they saw a blue/yellow fireball tracking from northwest to southeast. A meteorologist with the National Weather Service said the meteor exploded over Iowa County in southwest Wisconsin at about 24,000 feet, showering meteorites, beginning some forest fires. Those who saw it reported a window-rattling sonic boom.
Data wanted from meteor in Wisconsin
If you happened to see the meteor in Wisconsin, the International Meteor Organization would like to hear from you. Details about where the meteor in Wisconsin may have landed is a pay day for The International Meteor Organization to help scientists find any possible meteorites. Information about trajectory helps scientists track the orbit of the meteor in Wisconsin to possibly link it to comets or asteroids.
Video of Meteor in Wisconsin
The meteor in Wisconsin was a natural object that originated in outer space. When it entered the atmosphere, friction caused it to superheat into a brightly glowing fireball captured on video. Any pieces of the meteor that really hit the Earth will be called “meteorites.” In February 2010, about 1,086 meteorites were found after being reported as meteors. More than 38,000 meteorites are found. Apollo astronauts also reported having found meteorites on the moon.
Did meteor in Wisconsin become a meteorite?
Although bigger than most meteors, the meteor in Wisconsin wasn’t unique. The American Meteor Society Fireball Sightings Log: 2010 shows nearly daily reports of numerous meteor sightings from all around the country. On the other hand, meteorite discoveries are rare. On Jan. 22, 2010, a meteorite struck Dr. Frank Ciampi’s office building in Lorton, VA. The meteorite put a hole within the roof and ripped up the floor 10 feet from where Ciampi was working. Fragments of meteor rock the size of tennis balls were strewn around the room. Damage was light, and he probably doesn’t need a loan to fix it.
Meteor in Wisconsin danger was unlikely
According to astronomer Alan Harris on wikianswers.com, the chances of being killed by a meteorite in any person’s lifetime are about the very same as Bill Gates needing a no fax payday loans no credit check: 1 in 700,000.” As a comparison,” he said, “you’re more likely to die in a fireworks accident; But what’s funny is, this is a slightly higher chance than being killed by a terrorist!” The last impact on a human was in 1954, when Elaine Hodges of Sylacauga, Ala., was struck within the hip while napping on her couch. There is a Life magazine image of her showing the injury.
Wisconsin meteor not the first
This meteor hitting Wisconsin wasn’t the first to impact the state. Space.com reports that scientists, years ago saw something different about rocks around Wavery, Wis., and concluded an ancient catastrophic event occurred. They believe that at 67,500 mph a 650 to 700 foot meteorite hit the earth. The impact 450 million years ago released a lot more than 1,000 megatons of explosive energy, blasting a massive hole in a 4-mile area called Rock Elm about 70 miles east of Minneapolis, 3 scientists said in an article published within the Geological Society of The United States Bulletin. Over a long time, dirt, shale, and sediment filled the hole. Wisconsin had a shallow sea covering it at the time, blunting the impact. Worldwide, there are about 200 known meteorite impact websites. Only a couple dozen are in the US. Scientists estimate they occur each few hundred thousand years, and only a couple dozen in the United States. It is believed they only happen every few hundred thousand years.
Resources for the article
National Weather Service
The American Meteor Society
wikianswers.com
Space.com
