East Coast Event NOT A ROCKET 31MAR09

NOT A ROCKET
by Dr. Tony Phillips
SpaceWeather.com 31MAR09

News reports that a Russian rocket fell over the US mid-Atlantic coast on Sunday evening, March 29th, are probably incorrect. A spent Russian rocket booster did reenter Earth's atmosphere on March 29th, but apparently not over the USA. According to data published by US Strategic Command, the reentry occurred near Taiwan (24° N, 125° E) at 11:57 p.m. EDT. So what were those lights in the sky over Maryland and Virginia two hours earlier? Eyewitness accounts of the Atlantic Coast fireball are consistent with a meteoritic bolide--a random asteroid hitting Earth's atmosphere and exploding in flight.
http://www.spaceweather.com/

East Coast Event May have been Space Junk 30MAR09

Soyuz-FG rocket booster AP/NASA photo, Bill Ingalls

Blame 'space junk' for those flashes and booms
March 30, 2009 - 11:45am
WASHINGTON - The flashing lights and booming sounds that astounded people up and down the East Coast Sunday night...
(read more)...http://wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1636442