meteor story

Chris L Peterson wrote in message . ..
On Sat, 05 Jun 2004 09:23:05 GMT, "Paul Lawler"
wrote:

SCIENTISTS STUMPED BY BRIGHT FLASHES IN SKY

I never cease to be amazed by these kinds of headlines. As in this case,
they are invariably followed by a story in which several scientists are
quoted, proving they are not, in fact, "stumped," but are able to offer
several possible plausible explanations for the phenomenon.

My reaction, exactly. "Stumped" is certainly overused, and misused, by the
popular media. This was a meteor- a piece of naturally occurring material
(almost certainly not space junk). Everyone understands that's what this was.
Just because it hasn't been tied to a parent body, or to meteorites on the
ground, doesn't mean anyone is stumped about its nature.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

I did not see print coverage, but the local news coverage I saw was
similarly sensationalized. With such reporting, it is no wonder that
science knowledge among the general population is so poor.

Erik
socalsw