A large boom heard around area may have been bolide

The working theory at the moment is the boom heard 'round the CSRA can be attributed to a meteor.

While scientists haven't found any evidence of a meteor impact yet, Dr. Gary Senn, USC Aiken DuPont planetarium director, said one of two things likely happened, attributing the loud earth-rattling sound to either a sonic boom or an exploding meteor. A sonic boom occurs when something moves faster than the speed of sound. It's rare, Senn said, but meteors do move that fast.

A meteor is a piece of rock or debris from outer space that enters the earth's atmosphere. As a result of friction, it can appear in the sky like a streak of light or a fire ball, as some people say they witnessed between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m. Friday.

Several law enforcement officers working an overnight shift reported seeing a glow as well.

"They compared it to heat lightning," said sheriff's office spokesperson Capt. Troy Elwell.

Senn said the reports of a fireball in the sky could explain the meteor explosion theory.

There are hundreds of meteors that likely enter the atmosphere daily, but they are small and very fast.

"They are constantly hitting the planet, but most people don't see them because they may happen during the day," Senn said.

It is odd, however, that residents living in Georgia and South Carolina reported hearing the boom.

"But if it was large, it could do that," Senn said. "It is possible that it stayed in the atmosphere that long."

If someone does find something unusual, scientist can test the object and definitively say whether an object is a meteor.

The high amount of metal in the object would speak to that, he said.

"Someone trained will be certain of it," Senn said. "They are usually smooth in parts because of the heat."

For more information, contact the Ruth Patrick Science Center at 641-3313.

On April 4, the science center will host an observation program in celebration of the international year of astronomy. The program will begin at 4 p.m. and last until 11 p.m. Entry is free.

Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com

By DAVID BOYD

* Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are bodies - primarily of the inner solar system - that are smaller than planets but larger than meteoroids. They are too small to be pulled into sphere by gravity.

* A meteoroid is a small sand- to boulder-sized particle of debris in the solar system.

* Meteor is the name given to a meteoroid as it passes through the atmosphere where air friction causes it to melt or vaporize, sometimes making a bright streak in the sky. Most of the meteors we see are the burning fragments of a comet's tail. When the Earth passes into the area of a comet's orbit, we have a meteor shower.

* Whenever a meter survives its burning decent through the atmosphere and lands on the ground, it is referred to as meteorite.

* A bolide is a very bright meteor, which may explode as it enters our atmosphere. Sounds of the explosion can be heard if the observer is close enough. The explosion that occurred over Tunguska in 1908 leveled forests and was probably the result of a meteor or comet fragment with a diameter of a little more than 50 feet.

* A comet is an icy body left over from the formation of the solar system. It usually spends most of its time far away from the sun where it can remain frozen. Only when one passes close enough to the sun for the sun's radiation to melt some of the ice do we see the comet's tail, which is only the vapor that boils off of its surface.