Dear Charles, Rosemary and List, Dr. Andrei Ol'khovatov from Moscow, Russia weighed in on the Elma incident and came to the same conclusion, a geometeorite was to blame. It is amazing how similar the two events are. The kid with the burnt fingers in Elma and a kid with a burnt face in Iran. Three laboratories weighed in on the Elma incident. Two believe it to be a geophysical event and one believes there is a more earthly explanation. To me it is an unsolved mystery. I stopped commenting in public because there is no way to prove what happened either way and it was causing some grief with a few List members.
All the best, Adam Hupe The Hupe Collection IMCA 2185 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Charles Viau" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'Meteorite Mailing List'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2004 1:53 PM Subject: RE: [meteorite-list] Iranian Fireball Was Of Geophysical Origin > It very well could be related, and why it was so important to properly > document the Elma incident, even though all of the 'experts' gave the > principal investigators such grief. This is what science is all about. I > would hope that there are some geo-physicists out there that will want > to pull some of this material together from those 3 sources and look for > similarities. The people who witnessed such events were not stupid, nor > were they having any hallucinations. > > CharlyV > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rosemary > Hackney > Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2004 2:12 PM > To: Ron Baalke; Meteorite Mailing List > Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Iranian Fireball Was Of Geophysical Origin > > Is this similar to the Elma incident? Elma intrigues me. It looks like > sand > or particulate material having been fused. Perhaps was sucked up by a > dust > devil or other storm wind and electrical discharge in the atmosphere > fused > it like glass? Anyway.. is this Iranian material considered a > geometeorite > also? > > Rosie > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ron Baalke" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Meteorite Mailing List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2004 11:38 AM > Subject: [meteorite-list] Iranian Fireball Was Of Geophysical Origin > > > > > > > > http://www.nojum.net/news/newse.asp?newsid=34 > > > > PRESS-RELEASE: Feb 8, 2004 > > CONTACTS: Mr. Pouria Nazemi, > > Tel: +98 (021) 827 0029 > > E mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > INTERNATIONAL GROUP OF EXPERTS COMES TO CONCLUSION THAT THE FIREBALL > > FALLEN ON THE IRANIAN TOWN OF BABOL ON JANUARY 2, 2004 WAS NOT A > METEORITE, > > BUT WAS OF GEOPHYSICAL ORIGIN > > > > On January 2, 2004 a report appeared about a meteorite fall on the > town > > of Babol, Iran. A group of Iranian experts associated with Nojum > (Astronomy) > > magazine began to investigate. The group consisted of Mr. Pouria > Nazemi, > who > > has a large expertise in seeking scientific news and contacted many > > organizations to collect more information and also a science > journalist > > (Mathematics BSc.), Miss Mohaddesseh Azimlu who was looking for > physical > > explanation for such events since the previous one in some months ago > > (Physics Ms.) > > > > Mr. Iman Naderi, a serious amateur astronomer who didn't miss a moment > to > > reach the place and make early report and photos, Mr. Siavash > Safarianpour > > who organizes a daily live TV program in popular astronomy and Mr. > Oshin > > Zakarian, a nature and night sky photographer. > > > > Witnesses reported that the event started with seismic, and sound > phenomena, > > which were followed by unordinary light inside house and explosion > with a > > loud sound and ended by falling of a fireball which threw out sparks > and > was > > described as a " suspended lightning "about 2 meters in diameter and > > disappeared spontaneously. The boy who came out first and saw the ball > had > > burnt his face, but nobody else was hurt. > > > > Despite that the investigation continues, already now it is possible > to > > state that the event had nothing to do with a fall of an > extraterrestrial > > body, and evidently was of geophysical origin. > > > > Investigation of damage in the town caused by the event reveals that a > > house, which was in the epicenter of the explosion, was badly damaged > by > the > > explosion, and many houses within several hundred meters from it have > some > > minor damage. No traces of meteorite or any other object fallen were > > discovered. The damage of the house partly was as caused by some > energy > > source inside the house, while possibility of a gas explosion etc. can > be > > excluded. > > > > After coming to conclusion that the event was caused neither by a > > meteorite, nor by any known made object, the Iranian experts contacted > > Dr. Andrei Ol'khovatov from Moscow, Russia. > > > > He has a special web-page ( http://olkhov.narod.ru/gr1997.htm ) , > devoted > to > > similar unexplained fireball falls, which have nothing to do with > meteorite > > falls, but are of geophysical origin. Dr. Ol'khovatov prefers to call > them > > geophysical meteors or just geometeors. According to him, these events > are > > poorly known, and little plausible physical mechanism was proposed for > them > > yet, but observational data points that geometeors in many aspects > resemble > > an energetic high-speed "ball-lightning". Anyway, a statistical > analysis > > conducted by Dr. Ol'khovatov revealed that geometeors have a tendency > to > > occur in some special geophysical situations. > > > > So Dr. Ol'khovatov has joined the group of Iranian researchers in > > investigation of the Babol event. One of the tasks was to check > whether > > geophysical situation of the Babol event was favorable for geometeors, > > especially in an aspect of cloudiness development in the region. It > was > > checked through satellite meteorological diagrams and however it > didn't > show > > any cloud in the region, but starting changes in weather condition. > > > > The Babol fireball was neither the first nor the last one in Iran. > Some > > months ago Nojum received a report about observing a fire ball on May > 23, > > 2003 in Marzanabad, in North of Iran. It was in a rainy evening and > big > > thunders occurred continuously. Witnesses saw a high speed fireball > hit > two > > old big trees, broke them with a very loud sound and continued its > way. > The > > electricity broke in village for a few hours. > > > > On January 21, 2004 another fireball came to visit an Iranian village > in > > North West, near MeshkinShahr in Ardabil state. It was again a stormy > night > > that a white fireball, bigger than full moon appeared in the sky and > after > > few minutes disappeared. Simultaneously electricity broke in the whole > area > > for several hours and a house was damaged. A part of roof covering was > > disappeared and a wall and door was broken with a loud sound. > > > > As both these two events have happened in stormy weather with thunders > and > > lightning, investigators come to conclude that they should be ordinary > "ball > > lightnings" that may be produced in such conditions. During natural > > lightning a part of air molecules become ionized (which is called > plasma) > > and shine as a flash in a moment and come back to ordinary state (we > saw > it > > as the path of lightning); but in rarely conditions that we still > don't > know > > completely this plasma is caught in a ball shape and if hits anything > may > > release a lot of energy like a lightning with same loud sound and > > destruction. We know very little about natural ball lightnings, but > can > make > > them artificially in very small size in laboratory. > > > > Anyway, the investigation continues, as those events and specially > that > one > > in Babol gives a rare possibility to get a lot of data about such > poorly > > known meteorological or geophysical phenomena. > > > > Group members are also waiting for your reports about any similar > > observations at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > ______________________________________________ > > Meteorite-list mailing list > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > > > > > ______________________________________________ > Meteorite-list mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > > > > ______________________________________________ > Meteorite-list mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list