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Was Allentown, PA struck by an asteroid fragment?

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posted on Feb, 15 2011 @ 04:28 PM
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If it was hit by an asteroid then why...

1. did no one see an asteroid hit said area? Same goes for the dust/smoke train which would have been created by an asteroid as it punched through the atmosphere. and would have hung over the area for at least a short while afterward.

2. was no meteorite found at the bottom of the crater?


3. Why did DOD satellites not pick it up/issue a release? Note:they only issue a release under exceptional circumstances (in order to protect national security), and impact event on US soil would definitely qualify. The last event which was listed was a significant and historic fireball which dropped meteorites in Sudan. This event, if it did indeed take place, would be an even better candidate for a release than the Sudan fireball/meteorite since crater forming impacts are extremely rare, and not a single one has been recorded in modern history.

I don't know what it was, but a gas explosion sounds a lot more plausible than an asteroid impact to me.



posted on Feb, 15 2011 @ 05:42 PM
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Originally posted by C.H.U.D.
If it was hit by an asteroid then why...

1. did no one see an asteroid hit said area? Same goes for the dust/smoke train which would have been created by an asteroid as it punched through the atmosphere. and would have hung over the area for at least a short while afterward.

Late at night on a weekday in a working class town? Heavy cloud cover? Dust/smoke train obliterated by massive smoke from the explosion?

It would've been a small fragment that broke off from the 2011 CA7 meteorite that passed by on Feb. 9. Probably nothing dramatic. And I'm not sure no one didn't see it. I'm intrigued by the 14-year old girl living across the street who said the entire house lit up with a yellow light just before the explosion.


Originally posted by C.H.U.D.
2. was no meteorite found at the bottom of the crater?

Has anyone even looked or tested site soil samples for unique elements? I doubt it.


Originally posted by C.H.U.D.
3. Why did DOD satellites not pick it up/issue a release? Note:they only issue a release under exceptional circumstances (in order to protect national security), and impact event on US soil would definitely qualify.

You said it, not me. Lots of astronomers questioned why this new DoD rule was implemented in the first place.

Is it possible DoD knows something we don't and this is an early and prime example?


Originally posted by C.H.U.D.
I don't know what it was, but a gas explosion sounds a lot more plausible than an asteroid impact to me.

Not sure how you can say that when the pipeline was checked for leaks the previous day, there were no reports of gas odors, no recent construction in the area, damage was clearly excessive for a residential gas line explosion, especially a crater the size of "two houses."

But I guess everyone's entitled to their own opinion...



posted on Feb, 15 2011 @ 06:49 PM
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Not sure how you can say that when the pipeline was checked for leaks the previous day, there were no reports of gas odors, no recent construction in the area, damage was clearly excessive for a residential gas line explosion, especially a crater the size of "two houses."

I would assume they check the gauges for pressure drops presenting a possible pipeline leak. Who's to say the one checking for leaks filed his paper work correctly, or skip a few checks.

As for my recent post about the series of Booms, I don't understand why you say not to read my post.... unless your one of the "paid disinfo agents" GoldenFleece. It is called "The Scientific Method" and it's basically a process of elimination, long story short. I'm standing by my theory on what could have happened, though a gas line is the most plausible even in my own mind. It's still a story without an ending as of now.



posted on Feb, 15 2011 @ 07:28 PM
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reply to post by SixX1874
 

Sorry, but the "Scientific Method" involves more than picking apart real research with vagaries like, "it could've been this, it could've been that, this by itself doesn't prove anything", etc, without offering any eyewitnesses or circumstantial evidence to support your theory. You didn't even bother to read the other replies or you would've noticed that I'd already addressed the 'air being sucked out of the room before the blast' issue that you misread.

Tell me, have you read a single news article about the incident? Have you done one iota of research? Can you offer any support for your theory, other than universal skepticism and spouting platitudes about the "Scientific Method?"


edit on 2/15/2011 by GoldenFleece because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 15 2011 @ 07:57 PM
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I'll admit that I did indeed see a shooting star, but it was sometime after midnight last Thursday. I am approx 15-20 minutes from the Philly airport, and I am in the fly zone, so I knew that was the direction it went in. Not a plane. The thing was falling at a rapid pace. I remembered this because I had told a friend at my childrens school that afternoon... I do not know what time the explosion happened or the date of the explosion. I haven't even heard of anyone else in my area that saw the shooting star. I have an all glass sun porch, so for me, it was clearly visable. I don't even know if there could be a relation, but I figured I would throw it out there....From my area it was a gorgeous sight! Glad I'm a night owl



posted on Feb, 15 2011 @ 08:42 PM
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reply to post by j.r.c.b.
 

Thanks for posting your observation, but Thursday was a day after the Feb. 9th Allentown explosion.

You probably saw 2011 CZ3 on Feb. 10th, which was larger and higher than CA7 that passed by only 63,000 miles away.



posted on Feb, 15 2011 @ 09:20 PM
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Originally posted by GoldenFleece
reply to post by j.r.c.b.
 

Thanks for posting your observation, but Thursday was a day after the Feb. 9th Allentown explosion.

You probably saw 2011 CZ3 on Feb. 10th, which was larger and higher than CA7 that passed by only 63,000 miles away.

AAhhhh.. Thank you for clarifying GoldenFleece, as I wasn't sure which night or day the explosion actually happened. It looked to be headed towards the PA direction from my direction, which is why I questioned it..I sure hope I get to experience that again!



posted on Feb, 16 2011 @ 08:36 PM
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Originally posted by GoldenFleece
Late at night on a weekday in a working class town?


Was there a curfew? Do all people in this town lock their doors and go to bed religiously before 9PM?


Originally posted by GoldenFleece
Heavy cloud cover?


What planet are you from? Obviously one where there is no gap between the cloud base and ground!


Originally posted by GoldenFleece
Dust/smoke train obliterated by massive smoke from the explosion?


Really? Must have been a big blast then? Perhaps equivalent to a small/medium sized nuke?

Here's another couple of question for you...

Were the surrounding towns/states completely also shrouded by cloud? If not, then why did no one see it? If you didn't know, meteors become visible at between 100 and 120 kilometres altitude. This means that brighter meteors can be seen for many hundreds of km from the actual point over the ground that the event occurred.

Why were no booms heard in the surrounding towns if this was a meteorite? Usually, large events that drop meteorites on the ground can be heard for many tens of km away from the actual event, and this event would have had to be exceptionally large to have created a crater of the size it did - there has never been a confirmed event that left a crater in modern history.



Originally posted by GoldenFleece
It would've been a small fragment that broke off from the 2011 CA7 meteorite that passed by on Feb. 9.


2011 CA7 meteorite??? Wow, you know lots about this subject don't you!



Meteorite: A solid body that has arrived on the Earth or Moon from outer space.

Source: NASA

Did you mean asteroid 2011 CA7?


Facts:
Close approach of 2011 CA7 (not 2011 CA) took place at 19:28 UT +/- 2 min on
Feb 9 at 0.0006922 +/- 0.000037 AU. That's 103,552 +/- 5535 km, or 63,344
+/- 3439 miles.

It was 2-5 meters in size (quite small by asteroid standards).

The closest approach to the earth's surface was about 97,181 +/- km.

That is not, as the youtube video stated closer than satellites; it's a
quarter of the way to the moon.

Any suggestion that it hit earth ignores these facts.

It's not even the closest approach by a known asteroid in the last month,
that would be 2011 CQ1 on Feb 4 at 5484 km above the surface. That one WAS
closer than geostationary satellites. In the last month, 6 newly discovered
asteroids have passed within 2 X lunar distance. It's a testament to the
amazing ability of the 3 Catalina Survey search programs at Catalina, Mt
Lemmon, and Siding Springs to find such small and faint objects.

2011 CA7 has a 1 in 1.85 million chance of impacting the earth's atmosphere
between 2062 and 2099. That places it at somewhere around 300th place in the
list of known risky asteroids.

Source: METEOROBS




Originally posted by GoldenFleece
I'm intrigued by the 14-year old girl living across the street who said the entire house lit up with a yellow light just before the explosion.


Lets see...

Gas ignites and produces yellow light. A fraction of a second later the girl senses an explosion.

Light travels faster than a shoc-kwave from a blast, at least on this planet. What planet did you say you were living on again? Planet "Crack" perhaps?


Originally posted by GoldenFleece
Has anyone even looked or tested site soil samples for unique elements? I doubt it.


Probably not - I wouldn't have thought it was standard procedure for what was likely a terrestrial event.

The point is - if something made it to the ground, big enough to make a reasonably large crater, where are the remains of the object? Evaporated perhaps?



Originally posted by GoldenFleece
You said it, not me. Lots of astronomers questioned why this new DoD rule was implemented in the first place.

Is it possible DoD knows something we don't and this is an early and prime example?


Is it possible? yes Is it likely? No. I guess you never followed up the story after it broke, when the DOD basically said they were working with the scientists to find common ground, and share data where appropriate.

So I guess you can provide some hard evidence to support your idea that there is a cover up?



Originally posted by GoldenFleece
But I guess everyone's entitled to their own opinion...


And everyone is entitled to have beliefs based on lack of knowledge and understanding... but it's obvious that you resent yours being challenged with real science that happens to conflict with them.

If you wanted a 1 sided view, without any discussion of real facts, why did you start a thread on ATS instead of creating a blog where you can present your beliefs without them being challenged?
edit on 16-2-2011 by C.H.U.D. because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 16 2011 @ 09:15 PM
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Originally posted by GoldenFleece
reply to post by j.r.c.b.
 

Thanks for posting your observation, but Thursday was a day after the Feb. 9th Allentown explosion.

You probably saw 2011 CZ3 on Feb. 10th, which was larger and higher than CA7 that passed by only 63,000 miles away.


GoldenFleece:

Do you not know the difference between a near Earth asteroid and a meteor/shooting star???

Apart from the fact that meteors appear to move fast in the sky compared to NEAs that are many thousands of miles away, and meteors usually only last a few seconds at most, while a NEAs would take tens of minutes/hours to cross the sky...

How would j.r.c.b be able to see an asteroid that would have been a 17th magnitude object on the night of closest approach... with the naked eye?


At 17th magnitude, you would need an 80cm (32") diameter scope to be able to see it.



j.r.c.b:

Don't listen to GoldenFleece - he's full of it.

You can see meteors/shooting stars on any clear night if you spend long enough looking. Sometimes you don't need to wait at all. As well as many meteor showers that occur throughout the year, there is a constant barrage of random (or "sporadic") meteors. There are many sources for meteors active at any given time, so without quite a bit more detail of an event, it's impossible to say what source it may be related to. As for what you saw being related to any explosion on the ground, that's highly unlikely given what we know about meteors and impact events (see my post above).

edit on 16-2-2011 by C.H.U.D. because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 16 2011 @ 09:59 PM
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xeno is throwing rocks at earth and space command is swatting them away. run tom don't just cruise.lol. and there's always a diecrillion death star or mutating space plague about to wipe out earth. and the only way the people get on with their happy life's is they just don't know about it.



posted on Feb, 16 2011 @ 10:10 PM
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Hope I link this correctly..This just came in as Breaking News on my local news station..Another Allentown gas leak.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com...



posted on Feb, 17 2011 @ 12:31 AM
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reply to post by C.H.U.D.
 

Whatever dewd, you've obviously got a very strong desire to debunk this issue. I'm done debating.

Just don't be surprised if there are a lot more "gas line explosions" in the not so distant future.



posted on Feb, 17 2011 @ 01:42 AM
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reply to post by C.H.U.D.
 


I am a relative newbie to this site and enjoy the lively debate that many of these threads give rise to. I realise the premise of ATS is to deny ignorance, which is why C.H.U.D you are absolutely correct to raise issues with some of the more easily disprovable notions suggested by the OP.

However this thread is not the first time I have noted the manner in which you do this. I believe that your efforts to debunk others' suggestions would be far more successful if you refrained from condescending remarks towards those who hold a different opinion from you. The sarcastic and belittling tone you adopt makes you appear like a small-minded individual with issues, who can only feel good about him/herself by putting down others. Tell me, are you below the mean adult height by any chance? Just testing a theory here....



posted on Feb, 17 2011 @ 10:11 PM
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Originally posted by casinoed
reply to post by C.H.U.D.
 


I am a relative newbie to this site and enjoy the lively debate that many of these threads give rise to. I realise the premise of ATS is to deny ignorance, which is why C.H.U.D you are absolutely correct to raise issues with some of the more easily disprovable notions suggested by the OP.

However this thread is not the first time I have noted the manner in which you do this. I believe that your efforts to debunk others' suggestions would be far more successful if you refrained from condescending remarks towards those who hold a different opinion from you. The sarcastic and belittling tone you adopt makes you appear like a small-minded individual with issues, who can only feel good about him/herself by putting down others. Tell me, are you below the mean adult height by any chance? Just testing a theory here....


Hi casinoed, and welcome to ATS (even if you have been here for a little while),

To be fair, I came on this thread (and ATS) to offer up my knowledge of a subject that very few people have even a basic understanding of, and no one else seems to want to tackle this subject at a serious level (on a forum like this) and on a regular basis (although a few competent researchers here on ATS have made good contributions - but it's rare), which is understandable since it's taken me years of studying this subject to attain a basic understanding of it.

When I first posted to this thread, I posted some valid, and pertinent questions/observations in a polite manner, only to be dismissed by the OP on all counts. Well, perhaps I was a little hard on the OP after that first post, but I've been here on ATS long enough to see what the OP was attempting to do, as it is a fairly common tactic here on ATS - Basically the OP starts a topic that seems like it is trying to get to the bottom of whatever questions there are, but he (or she) has already made up their mind what they want the answer to be. Invariably it's the more "outlandish" theory that will draw in the punters who don't know better in order to blow the subject out of all realistic proportion for the sake of earning attention and stars.

Then when someone comes along and pokes gaping holes in their dreams of grandeur, they are fobbed off, without the OP even taking the time to see if they actually have a valid point/points.

IMHO that is downright despicable, and makes a mockery of the ethos of ATS (deny ignorance).

Perhaps I could have been a bit more courteous about it all, and I apologise to all for that, including the moderators here, who have been very lenient with me (I suspect because they can see how frustrating this site can be for some people who genuinely come here to try and offer up hard facts about a subject, and they don't want to drive away those people, many of which have just had enough and already left).

If you have a look through other posts I have made, you will see that I'm usually polite and respectful of other peoples views. Heck, I'm even on good terms with some of the ATSers I've crossed swords with on here in the past. It's just those posters with an agenda that get me a bit hot under the collar, and I make no apology for trying to expose the relatively small element on here who try to divert us all away from the truth, and mislead us.


Those who know me, know that I will go out of my way to help others or explain something if they are genuine and willing to listen to reason. I'm certainly not on here to try to boost my ego, and more than realise I am not the last word on the subject, but I know enough to see the pitfalls where as most people who have not done their research will miss them.

In short, I think I deserve just a little bit of respect for pointing out what has been overlooked (though no more than anyone else who makes a valid post)... but in the majority of cases it's the posts that are thin on facts that tend to get recognised here on ATS. This is what is costing ATS many of the better read and intelligent members, who have been gradually leaving over the years, resulting in ATS becoming an even more one-sided forum than it was a few years back, leading to even more of the better posters leaving.

Sorry if this has turned into a bit of an off topic rant, but I would like everyone to know where I am coming from on this matter, and it does relate to this thread as well as ATS in general.

As for your last question - I am a little over 6 feet tall.



posted on Feb, 18 2011 @ 03:29 AM
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reply to post by C.H.U.D.
 


I thank you for taking the time to explain yourself in such a courteous fashion C.H.U.D. Having looked back on some of your past threads, I can see that you are indeed a well informed individual with a genuine interest in the subject under discussion.

I guess a lot of people here on these boards are looking for answers, to a vast range of questions. Sometimes science has easy explanations but sometimes it cannot square all of the circles. My initial response to the OP was sceptical although it did leave certain questions unexplained and therefore grabbed my attention.

You were doing a fine job of debunking the argument, but in suggesting the OP was a mere "crack", I found myself wishing the outlandish theory turned out to be right.

It must be frustrating when, having gleaned as much knowledge of a subject as you have, others continue to disregard the scientific and evidence-based explanation - this is quite often due to a lack of comprehension. And fear. Educating and informing others is an incredibly difficult job that requires great patience, especially when others aren't as naturally gifted in matters scientific.

This site needs individuals like you in order to help some of us dummies gain a better understanding of our universe, but please respect that some of us may not get it at the first or even the fourth attempt.

And six feet you say? That'll make you an insect then


Apologies all round on my part - especially to all the shorties out there. No offence intended



posted on Feb, 18 2011 @ 06:04 PM
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Originally posted by C.H.U.D.
When I first posted to this thread, I posted some valid, and pertinent questions/observations in a polite manner, only to be dismissed by the OP on all counts. Well, perhaps I was a little hard on the OP after that first post, but I've been here on ATS long enough to see what the OP was attempting to do, as it is a fairly common tactic here on ATS - Basically the OP starts a topic that seems like it is trying to get to the bottom of whatever questions there are, but he (or she) has already made up their mind what they want the answer to be.

Thank you for your response. To be fair, I did not dismiss you on all counts. You brought up three points: 1) Why didn't anyone see it before it hit? 2) Why wasn't anything found in the crater? and 3) Why didn't DoD know about it or announce it? I simply responded with possible explanations and even framed most as questions -- it was late at night/overcast in a working-class town of 100,000, it's doubtful anyone checked the crater for fragments and DoD recently decided to classify this information, much to the puzzlement and consternation of astronomers. You even agreed with the second point and answered the third yourself. Your first question is certainly valid and should've been acknowledged. Besides the woman I quoted who heard a "series of booms" before the explosion, I would've expected other people to have seen or heard something. Is it possible they did, but attributed it to the massive explosion that was heard 8 miles away? And isn't it true that very small pieces can cause tremendous damage? I recently visited Meteor Crater in Arizona and was amazed at the enormous crater created by a 3-4 foot meteorite that was on display. It looked like a nuclear blast.

I'd also like to note that you posted your rebuttal without addressing any of my original points, then flatly declared that a natural gas explosion was the most likely explanation, even though investigators still haven't determined the source or cause of the explosion. So if you felt that I was being dismissive, then I apologize, but I hope you can understand that IMO, the opposite was also true.

To be honest, I'm tired of the numerous debunkers on this site -- some of whom are absolutely pseudoskeptics and professional disinformationists -- who immediately jump all over every thread that suggests an alternative theory, cover-up or conspiracy. If this is the way they feel about EVERY topic, then why do they spend all their free time on a conspiracy site? Why aren't they at JREF or BAUT forums? I don't believe in organized religion, but I'm not gonna spend every waking moment on Christian websites arguing with true believers.

As for the accusation that I'm employing some kind of tactic or already have my mind made up, that's simply not true. I considered my reply to be possible explanations in support of an original hypothesis which is by no means conclusive or definitive. But how sympathetic should I be towards someone who doesn't even acknowledge my original points? BTW, I have relatives in Allentown, which is why questions and doubts about the official explanation from ATS member burntheships in her thread caught my attention.


edit on 2/18/2011 by GoldenFleece because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 18 2011 @ 08:31 PM
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Just for comparison, here's a Philadelphia natural gas explosion that was caught on tape after firefighters were called when residents smelled gas:


As you can see, it was a huge explosion that killed a utility worker (but not any firefighters or the cameraman) and it sure didn't damage or destroy 47 homes or create a crater the size of two houses.

I dunno, we'll probably never know what ultimately caused the Allentown explosion, but at least this video confirms my belief that the massive blast and destruction seemed excessive.



posted on Feb, 18 2011 @ 10:30 PM
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Thanks for your reply casinoed

Right now my time is limited, but I'll try to reply to some of the points you made.


Originally posted by casinoed
Sometimes science has easy explanations but sometimes it cannot square all of the circles.


I think you touched on an important point here, which I think is worth expanding on a little. It's both a complex and controversial issue.

Some will say that since science can not square all of the circles, that there must be things which science can not explain, which is where UFOs/aliens and the paranormal come in.

I think that everything can ultimately be explained by science, although it is quite true that science can not explain it all at the moment. We certainly do not know everything that there is to be known, and there are many new discoveries to be made that will no doubt change our view of the universe as we progress further. The main problem here is that we don't know how much we don't know, if you see what I mean.

The other problem is that the universe is a complex place, and some issues that can seem simple on the face of it, might well be quite complex once you dig a bit further. It seems to me that human nature (although I am no behaviorologist, it's a subject that fascinates me and I wish I had more time to delve into the subject) is to pick the simplest explanation that seems valid on the face of it.

This is where science comes in, to dig down deep and to get to the root of a given mystery, by examining all kinds of possibilities, and testing the likelihood of each - or by breaking down the problem into its constituent parts, and seeing how they fit together.

Let me give you an example/analogy - if you have a small jigsaw puzzle (representing your mystery), it's usually relatively straightforward to put the pieces together so that they all fit together perfectly, to form the complete picture (and solve the mystery), providing of course that you have all the pieces of the puzzle.

Now if someone gives you a shopping bag, that has an unknown number of puzzles all jumbled up together in it, and some pieces missing, the task of re-assembling all the puzzles to complete the picture becomes much harder. Some people will try to complete the puzzles by forcing parts together that don't fit precisely as they should, ignoring this fact, since they have created a massive picture that seems to make sense to them, usually based on their preconceptions of that the complete picture should look like.

The scientist on the other hand will carefully measure each piece, and perform tests when there is doubt that a piece is in the right place. It's a painstaking task, but the end result will be that the vast majority of pieces will end up in the right place, although we might not be able to complete the puzzle/s if there are still pieces missing.

I think that many (if not all) of the mysteries which still can't be solved are like this. Apologies for wandering off on a tangent for this lengthy point, which could be explored a lot further, but that's best left for another thread.



Originally posted by casinoed
It must be frustrating when, having gleaned as much knowledge of a subject as you have, others continue to disregard the scientific and evidence-based explanation - this is quite often due to a lack of comprehension. And fear. Educating and informing others is an incredibly difficult job that requires great patience, especially when others aren't as naturally gifted in matters scientific.


I guess I sometimes forget that not everyone has a background in science, and is well educated - I was lucky enough to study science (biology) at university, although I never went anywhere with it in terms of a professional career. I was young, and although I have always been fascinated by science, I decided it was not for me since I did not have the patience required for it at the time. I wish I had now, but in the end I found a branch of science that I don't think I will ever lose any of my passion for, so it all worked out nicely for me in the end.

You are right of course, that it is lack of understanding that results in fear.I think it's a shame that it's a problem that can easily be fixed in most cases, but those who suffer with this problem are often in denial about it, and trying to get people to take those first steps to solving the problem is an uphill battle. I think the only thing that frightens me is that it seems that we see more and more people like this all the time.



Originally posted by casinoed
but please respect that some of us may not get it at the first or even the fourth attempt.


Yes, good point, and I will try to keep it in mind. I have boiled over so to speak, and lost patience recently, partly due to a bit of a stressful time myself and my family have been going through for a while now, and lack of sleep of late probably has not helped. In the end we are all on the same side, and looking for the answers to our questions.



Originally posted by casinoed
Apologies all round on my part


None needed. You raised some good points that have made me think about how my replies might affect others.Thanks for that. Sometimes I can be a bit blunt, but I'll try not to take out my frustrations here on ATSers in future.



posted on Feb, 19 2011 @ 12:52 AM
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Originally posted by GoldenFleece
Thank you for your response. To be fair, I did not dismiss you on all counts. You brought up three points: 1) Why didn't anyone see it before it hit? 2) Why wasn't anything found in the crater? and 3) Why didn't DoD know about it or announce it? I simply responded with possible explanations and even framed most as questions


True, I was a bit hard on you GoldenFleece, and I apologise for that. The name calling was out of line. I hope we can both learn from this and put our differences aside.



Originally posted by GoldenFleece
Your first question is certainly valid and should've been acknowledged.


Thanks - I do think that if the cause was an object from space, it would more likely than not have been noticed by at least someone, given the size/nature of events that would be capable of making it down to the ground with as much force as required to produce a crater of the size that was produced.

Just for an example of what I mean, have a look at this footage of a big meteor/fireball that occurred over South Africa in 2009, keeping in mind that it exploded high above the ground (as most medium-large sized objects do)showering the ground below with small fragments, where as the event we are looking at in this thread must have been at least this size or larger, for anything to make it down to the ground with any force. Note that much of the sky is cloudy!


The ATS thread I started relating to this event can be found here

Also note that thousands of people over a very wide area witnessed this event directly, or at least saw the flash. Granted, it was not very late at night when the event took place, but even thick cloud will not block out the light totally when they are this kind of size, which is hardly surprising since they can reach or even exceed the brightness of the sun, and release power equivalent to multiple Hiroshimas. It's amazing to think that we are still only talking about relatively modest sized objects here (a few meters up to a few tens of meters), and the larger they get, the more light they will put out.



Originally posted by GoldenFleece
Besides the woman I quoted who heard a "series of booms" before the explosion, Is it possible they did, but attributed it to the massive explosion that was heard 8 miles away?


I missed that part, but I'll go back and try to find it tomorrow perhaps if I get a chance.



Originally posted by GoldenFleece
I recently visited Meteor Crater in Arizona and was amazed at the enormous crater created by a 3-4 foot meteorite that was on display. It looked like a nuclear blast.


I'm jellos - It's somewhere I've wanted to visit for some time now. Perhaps next time I'm over there.

I've also been looking for an excuse to post this cartoon - thanks for providing it

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/14cee2e67b55.jpg[/atsimg]

Regarding the size of the meteorite you saw there:- the original object would have been significantly larger than 4-5 feet before it entered the atmosphere. The atmosphere would have whittled it down a bit, but enough would have remained so that it would retain enough mass to keep a significant portion of it's cosmic velocity all the way down to the ground. I'm not sure what size it would have been at the point of impact, but I'll do a little digging and see if I can find some estimates. My guess would be at least 50 feet, and it would have been traveling at least around 3 km/s. The speed would give even a small object an enormous amount of energy, easily equivalent to a nuke, which would have been released at the instant of impact. That release of energy would have vaporized most of the remaining object, leaving only relatively small fragments like the one you saw.

If it had been a still larger object to start with, the energy release would have been still greater, leaving even less of the impactor behind. The largest impactors will totally consume themselves on impact.

I'll have to leave it there and get back to the rest of your points when I next get a chance, as it's getting late here, and I'm already sleep deprived.



posted on Feb, 19 2011 @ 05:44 AM
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Originally posted by C.H.U.D.
True, I was a bit hard on you GoldenFleece, and I apologise for that. The name calling was out of line. I hope we can both learn from this and put our differences aside.

No problem, C.H.U.D. While doing some research on the sounds made by meteors, I came across a thread that described you as "the resident expert on meteors." If I had known who you were, I wouldn't have been so dismissive. Matter of fact, I probably would've solicited your opinion.

Before this thread is finished, I'm gonna earn your respect and prove there's validity to my allegations.

On Feb. 10, 2011, the very next night after the Allentown explosion, there was another purported natural gas explosion in Hanoverton, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border. But this time, there's only an AP story:


Gas explosion seen, heard for miles
Investigation into Columbiana County blast under way. No injuries reported
Published on Saturday, Feb 12, 2011
Associated Press


HANOVERTON: People miles away reported hearing a ''blowtorch'' sound and could see a glow in the sky from a gas pipeline explosion that shook residents in eastern Ohio, an official said Friday.

''From 20 to 25 miles away they could hear a cracking,'' said Jim Hoppel, president of the board of commissioners governing Columbiana County. ''Some people said it was like a blowtorch.''

The Thursday night explosion and fire happened a day after a house explosion in neighboring Pennsylvania took the lives of five residents and destroyed several homes in Allentown.

A dispatcher for the county sheriff's office said officials had no reports of injury in the blast near Hanoverton. She said there was no mandatory evacuation but those in the village of about 400 people and surrounding towns who wanted to leave their homes could find shelter at a school and at the Salineville Fire Department.

The explosion occurred about 10:30 p.m. Thursday. A television station initially reported one house caught fire, but Robert Newberry, a spokesman for El Paso Corp., which operates Tennessee Gas Pipeline, said there were no structural fires. One house was damaged, the company said.

Newberry said only one nearby resident was evacuated.

Hoppel said he observed the sky ''all lit up'' from the county seat in Lisbon, about 20 miles from the scene of the blast. Others up to 40 miles away reported seeing a glow, he said.

Company spokesman Richard Wheatley said an investigation is under way.

The explosion involved a 36-inch, buried transmission line that dates to the 1960s and carries natural gas through the region, he said. Mechanisms in the section that ''failed'' automatically shut off the segment and the residual gas burned off, he said.

www.ohio.com...

So the sky was "all lit up" 20 miles from the scene of the explosion and there was a "glow" in the sky 40 miles away?

And people could hear a "cracking" or whooshing sound like a blowtorch from 20-25 miles away?

In addition to the incredible distances, does any of this sound familiar?


When a meteoroid enters our atmosphere it might break apart depending on it’s composition (typically iron or stone). It’s been reported by many witnesses close to areas where a meteorite falls that they hear a whistling or whooshing sound as the space rock(s) fly through the air overhead.

meteoriteblog.com...


In the wee hours of November 18, 2001, while meteor gazers sat outdoors enjoying a dazzling Leonid shower, a puzzled few sat indoors typing e-mails to NASA.

"Do meteors make noise?" two perplexed viewers in North Carolina wanted to know. They had heard "a crackling to hissing sound" several times that evening, just as the meteors flared overhead. Likewise, an observer in Mississippi heard "a hissing sound" right when a meteor streaked across the sky. A third person heard sizzling; a fourth, "a kind of swish." That shouldn't happen, one viewer pointed out. Sound travels far more slowly than light; you might hear a sonic boom several moments after a meteor appears, but simultaneously hearing and seeing the "swish" of a meteor is as impossible as seeing distant lightning and hearing the accompanying thunder at the same time. Yet this viewer, too, had heard "a faint fizzing" noise from several Leonid meteors that night. "I hope I'm not going crazy!" she added.

Not to worry, says Dejan Vinkovic, coordinator of the Global Electrophonic Fireball Survey. Vinkovic, a graduate student in physics at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, began the survey two years ago in an effort to gather a database of earwitness reports of these whispering meteors ("electrophonic fireballs" in the literature). He knows full well that reputable scientists have dismissed the phenomenon for centuries; in 1719, astronomer Edmund Halley discounted such anecdotes as "the Effects of Fancy." But not only has Vinkovic heard the sounds himself, he was recently part of an international team of scientists that, for the first time in history, successfully captured them on tape. "Nobody had actually recorded these sounds under controlled conditions," he says. "We proved that it can be done."

What do you think?







 
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