ENVR Large meteor crosses Israeli skies

[Fisher]

Fair use
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215330903130&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

Large meteor crosses Israeli skies
Jul 8, 2008 22:35 | Updated Jul 9, 2008 10:00
By JPOST.COM STAFF

A large meteor crossed Israel's skies on Tuesday evening, and was seen by many residents, mainly in the center of the country, Army Radio reported.

According to citizens' reports, the object was seen at approximately 8:15 p.m., as it crossed the sky from east to west horizontally. Some witnesses said they saw two shiny objects in the sky, and others reported that they heard a shrieking sound.

A Petah Tikva resident told Army Radio that he saw a beam of light, which crossed the sky in the direction of the sea. "It looked like a comet, with a long white tail, but much shinier and moving much faster," he said.

Yigal Pat-El, chairman of the Israeli Union of Astronomers, told Army Radio that the meteor was exceptionally large, and that its entry into the atmosphere was not expected.

Nevertheless, he emphasized that this was not an uncommon occurrence.

"Meteors enter the Earth's atmosphere all the time - it's not a rare phenomenon. The meteor was relatively large - most do not weigh a thousandth of a gram, and it seems this meteor would have weighed a few grams," he said.

 

[SarahLynn]

I really don't know why, but this:
... "the object was seen at approximately 8:15 p.m., as it crossed the sky from east to west horizontally...."

reminded me of this:
Mt 24:27
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

two shiny objects in the sky

 

[CelticRose]

Betcha with Iran testing their new longer range missles today, more than a person or two was a bit freaked when this happened .........

 

[Amberglass]

I was thinking along the same lines as Celtic Rose...Missles entered my mind...especially with the shrieking noise.

looked like a comet, with a long white tail, but much shinier and moving much faster," he said.

Some witnesses said they saw two shiny objects in the sky, and others reported that they heard a shrieking sound.

 

[lafrteacher]

I was thinking along the same lines as Celtic Rose...Missles entered my mind...especially with the shrieking noise.

Ditto...I would think a meteor would make a roaring noise. This sounds like a malfunctioning missile. Too coincidental with Iran testing missiles today.

 

[baw]

I read,

"A large Shahab-3 ballistic missile crosses Israeli skies"...

heads up peeps!

 

[Tucson Sal]

Makes my hair stand on end - -

 

[lafrteacher]

I read,
"A large Shahab-3 ballistic missile crosses Israeli skies"...
heads up peeps!

Google search on the Arabic term "shabab" (on a hunch!)
From The cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia pp. 1105, "Fire":

"On the east side of the fortress of Gwaloir, where myriads of warriors have fattened the soil, phosphorescent lights often appeared. They are termed Shahaba by the Rajputs, perhaps from the Arabic Shahab, a meteor."

*************
Israel has an medium-range rocket called a Shavit, which means comet in Hebrew.

From http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Israel/Missile/index.html
Jericho-II

"Some reports indicate that Israel began production of the two-stage Jericho-II ballistic missile as early as 1977. Other sources place the date several years later. In either case, Israel conducted several test-flights of the Jericho-II in the 1980s and 1990s. The Jericho-II was reported by a source to have entered service in 1989. However, during the first Persian Gulf War, Israel apparently balked at U.S. suggestions to limit any response to Iraqi Scud attacks to ballistic missile strikes in part because the Jericho was not yet fully operational. The Jericho-II is reported to have a range of between 1,500 and 3,500 km, depending on payload weight. It is said to be deployed in underground caves and silos primarily at the Zachariah facility.

Much of the information about the Jericho-II has been gleaned from observation of launches of the Shavit space launch vehicle (SLV). The Shavit is a three-stage, solid-propellant launcher designed to carry payloads up to 250 kg into low earth orbit. It was speculated for some time that the first two stages of the Shavit were the Jericho-II. This was confirmed in 2001 when a spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces admitted that the "Shavit is Jericho." Shavit launches are conducted from the Palmachim airbase near Tel Aviv. The first launch was in September 1988 and placed a satellite, the Ofeq-1, into orbit. The most recent launch was in June 2001 and placed the Ofeq-5 spy satellite in orbit. ""

 

[Scotto]

My son and I saw and heard one hit the ground not but a mile from our house a few months ago. Sounded like it was at least the size of a bowling ball.

 

[kozanne]

I really don't know why, but this:
... "the object was seen at approximately 8:15 p.m., as it crossed the sky from east to west horizontally...."

reminded me of this:
Mt 24:27
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Uh, that was my first thought also.....

Maranatha

 

[baw]

My son and I saw and heard one hit the ground not but a mile from our house a few months ago. Sounded like it was at least the size of a bowling ball.

Wow! did you guys go look for it? Would love to see some pix.

 

[Tundra Gypsy]

WOW, is that an omen or what?

 

[Warandra]

I really don't know why, but this:
... "the object was seen at approximately 8:15 p.m., as it crossed the sky from east to west horizontally...."

reminded me of this:
Mt 24:27
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

This was also one of my initial reactions, due to the wording in the article.

 

[lafrteacher]

In the tv show Jericho(Not referring to the Jericho missile), they show an EMP as a flash of light. Would it really do that? "Lightning from the East..."

 

[Double_A]

Betcha more than a few people had to change their undies.

Scotto, if that's the case I suggest you go looking for it. Meteorites can fetch prices a half-million or more for the right type if it were the size of a bowling ball!

 

[plantman]

Meteors from what I understand generally travel at about 18,000mph. Sound waves travel around 500mph. This doesn't add up. Sounds like some plasma leading edge craft to me.

 

[Double_A]

Meteors from what I understand generally travel at about 18,000mph. Sound waves travel around 500mph. This doesn't add up. Sounds like some plasma leading edge craft to me.

Depends on what portion and how long they've been in the atmosphere. For smaller bolides they will go incandescent and burn up quickly. Others with greater mass will last longer, but they will slowdown considerably when in denser lower atmospheres, to the point that their slower decent will cause them to stop glowing and simply drop like a rock. They have to have considerable mass to impact the earth at the velocity your referring to.

For reference see the famous book on this topic "Rocks from Space" by O. Richard Norton.

E-T-A by the way the glowing light IS a plasma.

 

[Mark Armstrong]

According to a comment made in response to a report at http://www.jewishjournal.com/geekheeb/item/ufo_panic_grips_israel_20080708/ , It was the 3rd stage booster of an Israeli Shavit rocket launched back in June 10th, 2007. Apparently some space junk that took a year to make reentry.

The person making that conclusion, Robert D. Matson, is also quoted regarding the incident at http://aliencasebook.blogspot.com/2008/07/israeli-ufo-was-israeli-spy-satellites.html .

 

[tanstaafl]

I'm still waiting for someone to explain why some people who witness meteors claim to SMELL and/or HEAR something BEFORE they even see the meteors. Either that's just more evidence that eyewitness testimony is VERY unreliable or there are still a lot of things we don't know about meteors. At the moment I'm leaning towards the former (some people are just ignorant idiots looking for attention), but I'm still open to the possibility of something new. After all, people had been witnessing meteorites impacting for millennia but it never really caught on as "science" until it was witnessed by "experts."

 

[Fisher]

Meteor sighting sparks UFO panic in Israel

Fair use
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1000206.html

Meteor sighting sparks UFO panic in Israel
Last update - 21:05 09/07/2008
By Yigal Hai, Haaretz Correspondent

An unexpected meteor cut through Israel's skyline from east to west Tuesday evening and disappeared shortly after, causing panic throughout central Israel and bafflement among astronomers who failed to predict it.

The meteor was seen by residents in the Tel Aviv area at around 8:00 P.M., leading to alarmed phone calls to the police. "Several calls were registered in which callers described having seen a shiny trail in the Sharon district," an Israel Police spokesman said. "We crosschecked with the Israel Defense Forces and its ground units, and came up with no explanation," he added.

Ram Rafaeli, A resident from Kfar Yedidya described is meteor sighting to Haaretz. "I went on the roof of the house with my sons and we began painting it. My eldest son turned my attention to a bright object that left a long trail, crossing the sky from east to west. It was white and radiant, and it shed a bright, strong and shiny light," he said.

Rafaeli explained that at one point he could no longer see the light that divided the skies. "As I am a man of exact sciences in my professional life, I don't believe in aliens. It is possible that it was a case of a meteor that entered the atmosphere, but it does not appear that way. In any case, it was a beautiful sight."

 

[truthseeker]

According to a comment made in response to a report at http://www.jewishjournal.com/geekheeb/item/ufo_panic_grips_israel_20080708/ , It was the 3rd stage booster of an Israeli Shavit rocket launched back in June 10th, 2007. Apparently some space junk that took a year to make reentry.

The person making that conclusion, Robert D. Matson, is also quoted regarding the incident at http://aliencasebook.blogspot.com/2008/07/israeli-ufo-was-israeli-spy-satellites.html .

It stays in orbit for 13 month's then falls unannounced miles from where it took off? I don't buy that.

 

[plantman]

Depends on what portion and how long they've been in the atmosphere. For smaller bolides they will go incandescent and burn up quickly. Others with greater mass will last longer, but they will slowdown considerably when in denser lower atmospheres, to the point that their slower decent will cause them to stop glowing and simply drop like a rock. They have to have considerable mass to impact the earth at the velocity your referring to.

For reference see the famous book on this topic "Rocks from Space" by O. Richard Norton.

E-T-A by the way the glowing light IS a plasma.

Thanks Double_A. I was aware of that, and have been a meteor storm chaser for decades now. I've yet to hear one that had sound.

 

[Fisher]

It stays in orbit for 13 month's then falls unannounced miles from where it took off? I don't buy that.

I dont either.

I thought NASA and other countries space agencies were supposed to be tracking every piece of space junk?.

If so why didnt they know the rocket booster was making reentry?.

I'm not saying that it was a UFO either, but the rocket booster explanation doesnt make sense to me.

If was something from one of Israels enemies, maybe they wouldnt want to frighten the people.

Kind of like the Missile thing with the TWA jet off Long Island back in the 90's.

 

[Double_A]

Thanks Double_A. I was aware of that, and have been a meteor storm chaser for decades now. I've yet to hear one that had sound.

Sounds? Heavens yes. Some have described sounds varying from pops, whistles, sizzling, and whomps (like a flat tire going whomp, whomp)

It's my understanding that sounds are only heard when within 30 miles or so IIRC.

Yes I chase the big displays. Out in the high deserts, turning my trucks FM radio to a locally vacant spot on the dial. I wait for a distance station to sound out suddenly when reflected off that plasma trail. My ex-wife and I used to do that a couple times a year.

 

[energy_wave]

Meteors from what I understand generally travel at about 18,000mph. Sound waves travel around 500mph. This doesn't add up. Sounds like some plasma leading edge craft to me.

I was thinking of something like star wars defense myself. I wonder what the speed was.

 

[energy_wave]

The more I research this...

Meteor sighting sparks UFO panic in Israel...

Mt 24:27
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

"An unexpected meteor cut through Israel's skyline from east to west Tuesday evening and disappeared shortly after, causing panic throughout central Israel and bafflement among astronomers who failed to predict it."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1000206.html


The more I am thinking of divine intervention

 

[Heliobas Disciple]

I just posted this on the photoshopped Iranian missile thread but I'll repost it here because it is relevant to this thread.

One of the Sahab 2 missiles failed to launch in the morning exercise (and was later doctored in the official photos). I'm wondering if they fixed the problem and relaunched it in the evening, and that is what was witnessed in Israel. I'm also wondering if it was shot down, and that is why some witnesses said they saw 2 objects in the sky.

Does the timing match? (was this the evening after the first Iranian exercise?)

HD

 

[colonel holman]

.

could easily have become a "launch-on-warning" moment

 

[WildDaisy]

Wait a minute. A "comet" streaks across the sky on the same day that Iran tests their missles and the Israeli people's first inclination is that it is a UFO?

Wouldn's most of these people assume, from months of preparation, that something streaking and glowing across their skies would be an incoming missile and call the police regarding that? A UFO is their first thought?

 

[energy_wave]

Finally got a picture.

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/161548-Large-meteor-crosses-Israeli-skies

 

[energy_wave]

Meteor' sighted off NZ's west coast

A shining light in the sky off the west coast of New Zealand overnight is believed to have been a meteor.

Christchurch police received reports from Hokitika to Nelson of a light in the sky between 11pm and midnight. Wanganui police received three calls of a bright light out at sea. Two people who called Wanganui police reported a white light.

Police initially thought it was a flare but then reports came in from down the west coast of the country.

There were no reports of anything hitting the ground.

Radio New Zealand reported that one person saw a ball of light entering the atmosphere and flaming out. An Air New Zealand pilot also witnessed the incident.

Katrina Goodwin lives Te Mata, outside of Raglan, and said she saw a bright light, about four times the size of Venus, plummet to the earth.
Ms Goodwin said she was about to go to bed when she saw the light over the ocean.

"It was like a giant shooting star. It was really fast and shot down to the ground," she said.

http://www.silobreaker.com/DocumentReader.aspx?Item=5_878049289

 

[dragonslayer2001]

Could

it possibly be .....................

your average Israeli is not listening to all the war hype and beliveing it as much as some TB'ers? Could it be that in Israel there may be enough of a free press left that they might be getting all sides of the story and are NOT all huddling terrified in their basements as some here want us to beleave?

So, they see a streak in the sky, and unlike some TB'ers don't automatically assume it is an Iranian attack (which, really, would be suicide),

and instead............. think...............OY VAY, look! meteor? ufo? what the hay is that??????????????????


"Wait a minute. A "comet" streaks across the sky on the same day that Iran tests their missles and the Israeli people's first inclination is that it is a UFO?

Wouldn's most of these people assume, from months of preparation, that something streaking and glowing across their skies would be an incoming missile and call the police regarding that? A UFO is their first thought?"



Polls in Israel have shown that something like 70% of Israelis are tired of constant war and desire peace, even if it means moving hardcore religionists out of occupied territories.

 

[FarmerJohn]

My son and I saw and heard one hit the ground not but a mile from our house a few months ago. Sounded like it was at least the size of a bowling ball.

Uh, a missile warhead or meteorite?

Meteorites are quite valuable to collectors of such things. A (dud) warhead would be of great interest to somebody. Try E-bay if you can manage to dig the thing up....

Good Luck!

FJ