Ash Creek - West, Texas Meteorite Hunt


Fell February 15, 2009 in West, Texas, McLennan County, United States 11:00 AM CST (UT-6). It is classified as an Ordinary chondrite (L6). At the time of the event, News 8 cameraman Eddie Garcia recorded a fireball 180 km south of downtown Austin, Texas. From SE of Austin to Ft. Worth, many people observed the bolide. Using National Weather Service Doppler reflectivity radar measurements (NWS Ft. Worth and Granger stations) the bolide location was recorded at 11:03 A.M. D. Dawn led a team, which interviewed witnesses in the strewn field within 48 hours following the fall. In southern Hill County, straddling the northern corner of McLennan County, sonic booms were widely heard for a duration of 20–30 seconds in the area from Hubbard to Aquilla. The fireball was bright and the meteoroid fragmented overhead near Birome, where the sonic booms were reported loudest. In Aquilla, the rumblings were likened to a jet taking off, and the event was described at 30–40 degrees altitude in the eastern sky, with some horizontal movement. Strong sonic booms were widely reported from Hubbard and Penelope. J. Trussell heard a rumbling, which initially vibrated a window at about 11:00 A.M. CST. He looked north along Ash Creek and saw two segments of a smoke trail separated by a thick cloud. Shortly afterwards, a blackened stone rolled near his foot and a second impacted a shed behind him. Meteorites were found on February 17 by D. Sadilenko and D. Dawn on the banks Ash Creek, northern corner of McLennan County.

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