[...] and zoomed in all night & saw nothing of it when I reviewed the recording the next day. Universe Today » Meteor Blazed Above the Pacific Northwest Tuesday, February 19 Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man [...]

Freeport, TX

I was warming up the car, heading across the street for the newspaper when a bright flash lit up the sky to the South. I was not facing that direction directly, but caught the fireball in my peripheral vision. My first thought wasn't "meteor", but airplane or jet coming down. It was bright, more so because it was so early in the morning.

Last night, we waited patiently for the wayward satellite to make a pass overhead and sure enough, it was well within the window suggested by HeavensAbove. Very easy to see, and easy to find as it's path intersected Mars from our viewpoint. As it turned out, that 6:09pm sighting was it's last orbit… a few hours later, we saw on the news that the Navy splattered it across the sky.

And to top it off, a total lunar eclipse, the last visible in our area for several years. Clear skies made for a great show.

All three events prompted lengthy discussions of physics, celestial mechanics and astronomy with our son, currently taking AP physics. Great teaching examples.

[...] at the planet, resulting in a 7.5 earthquake in Indonesia and a 6.2 earthquake in Greece. News of a large meteor streaking down over the Pacific Northwest caused a stir. And let's not forget Lindsey Lohan [...]

That could not have been the same object. The fireball in the NW was at 5:31am Portland time, which would have been 8:31am Detroit time. Unfortunately, I missed it (I live in Portland). I would have been in the shower about that time…

Reports are sketchy, but there were some observations that indicate the fireball may have hit the Earth near Walla Walla, WA. No reports of damage or debris found yet.