karn (07/14/82)
In response to Richard Piner's uncommon meteor sighting, I
think it's very likely that he identified some reentering
space junk. A number of years ago, I had the good fortune to
observe a similar occurance while in western Pennsylvania.
The object was a brilliant blue-green - an unmistakable set
of copper emission lines... It trailed orange and red
"sparks", but did not appear to fragment. This object was
bright enough to illuminate some scattered clouds (at night).
The trajectory was nearly horizontal, taking about five
seconds from first appearance until it disappeared. I
know of no natural meteors with a spectrum such as the one I
saw. I assume that this was space junk.
In closing, it might be interesting to note the particulars of
such sightings (time/date, direction). There might be a chance
that it could be identified. Perhaps the data could be obtained
from NORAD...
Steve Robinson
Environmental Medicine, NYU