Did You See the Mason Dixon Meteor Streak Across Maryland and Pennsylvania?

[mikesastro]

You might have heard about this story, it was on slashdot.org last week.

On July 6th 2009 at 1:04 AM a fireball streaked across northern Maryland and Southern Pennsylvania. Hundreds of eye witnesses reported the meteor causing a sonic boom and shaking houses. Amateur astronomer Mike Hankey in Freeland MD was shooting a long exposure of Andromeda at the time and the meteor streaked through his picture.

http://www.mikesastrophotos.com/baltimore-pa-meteor/update-on-baltimore-pa-meteor/"

A security cam from York Water Company recorded the meteor's flight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXAm...baltimore-pa-meteor/&feature=player_embedded"

I am Mike Hankey and I've been searching for this meteor since I photographed it.

Yesterday I acquired a third recording from safe harbor dam in the middle of the Susquehanna river. The dam was very close along the previously determined meteor path and estimated bulls eye. I wrote the dam last week and asked them to check their security video for the date and time. They were nice enough to check and share the video with me. The video is not a direct sighting but it has 4-5 frames of distinct shadows that could be used to determine a relative location and direction.

I believe there is enough good photographic evidence to get a more precise bulls eye than the one we have now. (current bulls eye red zone is approximately 50 square miles and determined by an aerospace engineer.)

The astro photo of the meteor is very precise because there are stars in it and we know the exact time. The york video is very good as well. The video from the dam only shows shadows but these could be valuable if properly analyzed.

Is there anyone in this forum that could help determine the trajectory of this meteor based on the evidence we have now? I can share with you latitude and longitude and line of sight for all of the sightings. If you can help, please respond to this post or email me at mike.hankey [AT] gmail.com

Thanks,

Mike Hankey
http://www.mikesastrophotos.com/
Astronomers look up, meteorite hunters look down.

 

[solarblast]

Check with the astronomy dept. at the Univ. of Western Ontario, meteor branch. They have many meteor cameras there that conceivably caught it and computed the necessary path for recovery, providing it struck the planet. I don't recall their web site, but Google should find it easily from the above.