# I think I just saw a meteorite **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 2, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895 "2004-08-02T01:09:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Mr\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/1 "2004-08-02T01:09:53Z")
Well, maybe not but it sure looked like it. I glanced out my window towards Lake Huron and watched this very bright line very slowly eek down towards the ground over the course of 5 min. It’s a holiday weekend here but I know it wasnt fireworks. It just sort of burnt out just above the tree line and the trail of it blurred away into the clouds and sunset. Of course my digicam was 3 ft away from me but I was too engrossed. :smack: Likelihood? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/2 "2004-08-02T01:20:11Z")
I can say with certainty that the likelihood of your seeing a meteorite in the sky is exactly 0%. You might have seen a meteor, but they don’t become meteorites until they hit the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/3 "2004-08-02T01:22:46Z")
There is a meteor shower that runs this time of year called the Perseids. It is a great show that I look forward to every year. [Perseids](http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast31jul_1.htm) ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/4 "2004-08-02T01:28:24Z")
> [@Terminus Est](#): > > I can say with certainty that the likelihood of your seeing a meteorite in the sky is exactly 0%. > > You might have seen a meteor, but they don’t become meteorites until they hit the ground. Rats! I wanted to be the snide pedant! 😃 Seriously, meteors are fairly common. It is quite possible to see them outside of the spectacular showers. IIRC something on the order of several tons of debris lands on the earth each day. (Or is that year? I can’t recall, and it’s not that important, really.) The unusual meteors are the ones that actually make it to ground level to become meteorites. The REALLY unusual ones are those that are large enough to be seen over a large area. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Mr\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/5 "2004-08-02T01:28:51Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > There is a meteor shower that runs this time of year called the Perseids. It is a great show that I look forward to every year. > [Perseids](http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast31jul_1.htm) Ooh cool link-thanks! The first pic pretty well matches what I saw. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Mr\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/6 "2004-08-02T01:30:28Z")
> [@Terminus Est](#): > > I can say with certainty that the likelihood of your seeing a meteorite in the sky is exactly 0%. > > You might have seen a meteor, but they don’t become meteorites until they hit the ground. Ok, ok, how about _potential_ meteorite? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/7 "2004-08-02T01:35:39Z")
Five minutes seems like an awfully long time for a meteor to be viewable in the sky - even meteors with tails tend to be gone in seconds. Are you sure about the time? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Mr\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/8 "2004-08-02T01:41:24Z")
> [@Boscibo](#): > > Five minutes seems like an awfully long time for a meteor to be viewable in the sky - even meteors with tails tend to be gone in seconds. Are you sure about the time? Hmm…I could be wrong but the trail end of it was definitely visible that long, before blending in with the sunset and clouds. It certainly wasn’t what anyone would call “fast” though. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/9 "2004-08-02T01:59:56Z")
Chances of being a meteor are also 0%. They are literally flash-in-the-pans. It takes a really huge make-the-news-in-several-states metero to even last a half minute. You saw a plane or other man-made object. (Unless you are really bad at Astronomy and saw a planet/bright star sinking in the sky.) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/10 "2004-08-02T02:15:07Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > You saw a plane or other man-made object. (Unless you are really bad at Astronomy and saw a planet/bright star sinking in the sky.) I’m inclined to agree. Under the right circumstances, high-altitude aircraft can leave very short contrails that can certainly _look_ like the sort of trails one might expect to see behind large, bright meteors. Even very bright meteors, however, are seldom visible for more than a few tens of seconds. They move VERY fast. ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/11 "2004-08-02T07:14:40Z")
Sounds to me like you spotted a sattelite. ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/12 "2004-08-02T07:18:35Z")
Or a satellite even. (Mumble mumble typing thumbs defunct brain no preview.) ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/13 "2004-08-02T07:59:45Z")
We’re going over to Eastern Washington to see the Persieds. Or Oregon or maybe even Idaho. There’s less chance of clouds over in that general direction anyway. Can’t wait to go! I agree that it sounds like a satellite that you saw. There’s lots of 'em up there. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/14 "2004-08-02T13:46:29Z")
Am I the first to suggest… MARTIANS Ok, I’ll go get caffeine and come back later… with pie. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/15 "2004-08-02T14:51:21Z")
“metero”? I’ll admit that I am both a bad typist and speller, but that’s getting pretty weird even for me. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/16 "2004-08-02T14:52:35Z")
It wasn’t a satellite. Very few (if any) satellites are naked-eye objects, they don’t leave trails, and even those very few you might be able to see wouldn’t be visible until well after dark. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/17 "2004-08-02T15:04:47Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > It wasn’t a satellite. Very few (if any) satellites are naked-eye objects, they don’t leave trails, and even those very few you might be able to see wouldn’t be visible until well after dark. WTF, dude? There are hundreds of naked eye satellites ([http://www.assa.org.au/observing/iridium/](http://www.assa.org.au/observing/iridium/)). Lie outside on a dark night and you’ll see one every few minutes. Not to mention the ISS and MIR. You’d be unlikely to see most satellites during twilight, but you can easily see an[Iridium flare](http://satobs.org/iridium.html) which can be up to -8.0 magnitude (e.g. very, very bright). While I agree that something that left a trail over a course of five minutes was not likely to be a satellite, but rather a contrail or a flare of some kind, you’re mostly wrong about the details. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/18 "2004-08-02T16:00:50Z")
> [@clayton\_e](#): > > Am I the first to suggest… > > MARTIANS > Ok, I’ll go get caffeine and come back later… with pie. I’ve searched for awhile trying to find a cite verifying a meteor or fireball sighting over Lake Huron or in the vicinity recently but I’ve had very little success. The only sightings I did run across were all UFO’s of the ET type. So, Clayton, perhaps you’re onto something here. Try a search on Lake Huron and sightings…and see what I mean. A fireball lasting five minutes is unheard of in my recollection. I watched the Space Shuttle when it went down and it didn’t last nearly that long. It was directly overhead at my place just north of Palestine, TX. However, it did take at least that long for the trail to dissipate. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-i-just-saw-a-meteorite/257895/19 "2004-08-02T16:44:01Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > WTF, dude? There are hundreds of naked eye satellites… > While I agree that something that left a trail over a course of five minutes was not likely to be a satellite, but rather a contrail or a flare of some kind, you’re mostly wrong about the details. Relax dude. **QED’s** just bucking for a membership in [the club](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5080915&postcount=86) They kinda ousted him the other day and he’s just showing 'em his worthiness. 😉