Missile, Meteor or .... Other?

[Dryson]

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/v...alencia-russian-meteorite-on-dashcam.cnn.html


What do you think this is?

I think that it is a missile of some type. But if it had been a missile test then the local media and government would have discounted it as being just that a missile test.

 

[sojourner]

It was a meteor.

 

[HIjol]

It was NOT an Alien spacecraft or secret government installation test-craft...nor was it swamp gas from a weather balloon, trapped in a thermal pocket and reflecting the light from Venus...

...honest...

 

[YellowSubmarine]

By the looks of it, it is most likely Zefram Cochrane warp vehicle, he probably slingshotted around the sun to avoid the Borg and crashlanded.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

The fact bits of it were falling off as it came down points to a meteor.

 

[Silvercrest]

I smell cover-up!

Oh, wait, that's swamp gas I smell. Never mind.

 

[Squiggy]

I think that it is a missile of some type.

Why?

 

[JustAFriend]

Nothing in that video says anything more than a good-sized meteor.
Of course the only way to verify is to go find the fragments.

 

[PurpleBuddha]

I think that it is a missile of some type.

Why?

Because he knows it really looks exactly like a meteor but wanted to be contrary.

 

[HIjol]

Use the Flashy-Light Eye-Thingy!!!...

 

[Haggis and tatties]

I am just glad it was not bright green, with a green mist drawing behind it.

 

[sojourner]

It's OK, Tarna would have handled it.

 

[Silvercrest]

I'm just glad Bruce Willis didn't have to save us.

 

[Dryson]

At the end of the video it shows to be what appears like a plume of smoke trailing off into small point of light and then disappearing.

 

[publiusr]

The fact bits of it were falling off as it came down points to a meteor.

Exactly.

Now, if you really want to see something odd...compare that video (and Chelyabinsk, and Peekskill) with this:

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090302.html
http://transientsky.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/meteor-or-not/
http://astronomy.activeboard.com/forum.spark?aBID=58381&p=3&topicID=14907382

This object, according to Gary Kronk, stayed in atmosphere for 1,500 km. The super-8 footage shows it staying together rather well--not breaking up despite its very long track.

It skipped out into space and was to make a resonant return in the 1990s.

Now that contrail looks as smooth and as laminar as a baby's bottom--and it reminded me of the stardust aeroshell and the like that came down over Dugway proving ground



You probably remember seeing Teton on A.C. Clarke's mysterious world--and you also remember the Leonov aerobrake in the movie 2010.

Stardust--which we know was fashioned by intelligent hands-- has a steady contrail look that reminds one more of Teton than anything else--no great chunks--no flaring. Very even.

Teton was most likely a nickel iron slug--but if a Bracewell probe wanted to do a resonant return--and had to bleed off some speed--it would look a lot like the Teton event of 1972.

Something to think about. http://www.setv.org/online_mss/seta83.html

The point is that an ET craft is not going to look like disco lights--it will just look a lot like Stardust...or a steady meteor.

"They" will have to aerobrake too--same as us.

If there are alien probes, they will be very old, likely in bad shape, and obey the same laws of physics we do.

I will say this--if I wanted a conspiracy theory, I'd say the recovery of this object in space--and not Hexagon--was the real reason for the STS orbiter having such a big shuttle bay.

Launch a Titan-Centaur to bring the thing back to LEO and circularize--and rescue with an orbiter before it falls apart.

There is your First Contact movie done a la Hard SF.