Meteor provides early-morning celestial display for Pacific Northwest residents

1 hour ago

KAMLOOPS, B.C. - A meteor that blazed across the darkened early-morning sky above the western United States was also clearly visible on the Canadian side of the border.

A Kamloops, B.C., man, who identified himself only as Doug, says he was driving south of the city when he saw a blazing ball that appeared to have hit the ground because it illuminated the entire horizon.

Another Kamloops man, Gerald Haggerty, says the horizon lit up like a bomb.

A Federal Aviation Administration duty officer in Seattle told The Associated Press the streaking meteor was reported by pilots from Boise, Idaho west to Washington State.

A Horizon Airlines pilot reported seeing the meteorite hit the ground with a flash and a burst of light near State Route 26, about 280 kilometres east-southeast of Seattle.

Sheriff's dispatchers said they had no reports of damage or injuries from the reported meteorite strike around 5:45 a.m. local time. They said one caller from Walla Walla, about 90 kilometres south-southeast of the reported impact site, said she heard a sonic boom and felt a shock wave not long after seeing the streaking meteor.
[link to canadianpress.google.com]