Meteorite fragments unlikely - astronomer

PAMELA NEWENHAM

DIRECTOR OF Armagh Observatory Prof Mark Bailey has said it is “highly unlikely” any fragments from a fireball seen by thousands of people last week will be found.

However, David Moore, chairman of Astronomy Ireland, urged members of the public to continue reporting sightings of it and said a meteorite had probably landed somewhere in Co Donegal.

An estimated 100,000 people saw the fireball, according to Mr Moore.

He said there was an excellent chance the rock had landed in Co Donegal, but that it would be very hard to pinpoint it.

“If contact us and tell us where they saw it, we will be able to triangulate their positions and find it within a couple of days.”

Prof Bailey said it was “highly unlikely anything fell to land, and if it did, it is unlikely anything would be found”.

He said the fireball “probably didn’t produce a meteorite”, and if it did, the size “would be very small – less than a small stone”.

However, Mr Moore said it was “a rough rule of thumb that where a fireball is reported to be brighter than the moon, it is likely a meteorite dropped”.