Meteorite entry in Northern Provincea report to the Meteor and Comet Director of SA
by Magda Streicher
At the farm site around 15km from the Zimbabwe border, 16km north of the
little town Alldays at South 22o30 and East 20o07. a meteor entry was seen
on Saturday night at 23h SA Time and 20h UT Time from this site, but the
time might be slightly out.
The brightest light ever seen was light up the bush field as far as the eye
could see, you should be able to read a book! The next second an impact
sound close to that of a bomb blast which sound like a definite ground
impact sound, follow up with an after sound that went over into a rattle
sound which last for around 3 seconds. My room windows rattle and suddenly
it was dead silence.
I ring various people around the area Sunday morning and there was a few who
saw the bright meteor entry.
A guy from Botswana report just over the border at Platjan border post, who
was outside in the field at the time. He reports that the blinding meteor
turn into a fiery red purple fire ball. In this stage a loud sizzling sound
was heard, burning smoke was seen and the earth was rambling with windows
shaking like mad. His children cried and was very scared by it all.
Another report from a farm close to Platjan, around 30 km west from the town
Alldays, he thought his house is been blast away and ran outside with shock.
He also had a report from a guy who stayed at Phalapie around 100km inside
Botswana who heard the impact sound and saw the blazing light of the meteor.
A man who was in Waterpoort just north of the Southpans mountain between
Louis Trichardt and Alldays. He reports a blazing white meteor light up the
field and travel with speed. He also heard the impact sound, although not
that loud. He was about 120km east from the Platjan border post.
Monday morning 23November, I talk to another Botswana guy who said that the
impact was like a bomb blast close to him. He stayed around 20 kilometres
from the Botswana border in South Africa. Because of the rain no fire was
report in the area around us. It looks like the sound was been heard over a
radius of more that 150 kilometres.
Follow up Wednesday 25 November 2009.
Perhaps the people closest to the posible site, stayed 61km west of Alldays
SA, and report that after the maybe impact of the meteor the ground was
rambling and trembling. He also saw a double flash. His neighbour just north
around 15km south of the border post Platjan report that one of the walls in
the house crack and it sound like the door was moving into its frame. He
also heard a hissing sound, smoke and a very red western horizon with a
burning red purple coma. This might be the closest that we came to the
impact site.
Back in Polokwane I check the radio station video footage show the time at
22h49m42s.
Magda Streicher
