http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1896632006

Experts split over photo of 'meteor'
ANDREW PICKEN

AT first he froze with fear as what appeared to be a burning aeroplane
dropped from the sky towards a Midlothian field.
But when he realised he wasn't witnessing an aviation disaster unfold as
he took his daughter to school, David Carson reached for his camera.
For the next ten minutes, the 40-year-old took dozens of pictures of a
strange streak of light across the Lothians sky that eventually broke
into an orange glow and then appeared to hit the ground.

A frantic call to police confirmed to Mr Carson that it wasn't a downed
aircraft, but astronomers today were at odds about what the phenomenon
actually could have been.
Professor John Peacock, of the Institute for Astronomy at the University
of Edinburgh, said it had probably been a meteor fireball.
But acclaimed astronomer Alan Pickup was adamant the strange streak of
glowing cloud was simply a condensation trial from a passing aircraft.
Mr Carson was just getting into his van to take his 14-year-old daughter
Jane to school when a peculiar flash of light in the sky to the east
caught his eye.

"I saw a vapour trail that looked like it belonged to a plane then below
it was this really strange streak of light," explained the furniture
restorer and amateur photographer, who had taken his camera out with him
to capture the frosty sunrise on Monday morning.
"I honestly thought a plane had been blown out the sky at first and just
panicked.
"I was shouting at Jane, 'What do I do? What do I do?'.

"I grabbed the camera and started taking pictures of the streak as it
got nearer to the ground.
"A bit at the front appeared to break off and turned bright orange
before looking like it crashed into the ground.
"I was really all over the place because I didn't know if it was the end
of the world or what, it was such a strange sight."
The incident, which took place about one mile south of Penicuik near to
Ravensneuk Farm, lasted about ten minutes from 8.30am on Monday morning.

The fireball - if that is indeed what it was - would have crashed to
Earth about a couple of miles east of the A701 Peebles Road.
If the rock hit the earth it would be classed as a meteorite rather than
a meteor.
Professor John Peacock, of the Institute for Astronomy at the University
of Edinburgh, said: "It is probably a meteor fireball - quite a rare and
spectacular example, and well worth publishing."
However, a spokesman for the British Geological Survey said that there
had been no seismic activity that could have been caused by a meteorite
strike in the Penicuik area during the time of the incident.

Astronomy writer Alan Pickup said he thought the streak was simply a
vapour condensation trail from an overhead aircraft. He said:
"Condensation streaks in the direction of the rising sun can look very
odd but there is no way this was a meteor.
"There are a lot of false sightings because of conditions like this but
if it had been a meteor then it would occurred a lot quicker than this
and would have been much brighter."

A police spokeswoman confirmed officers attended Mr Carson's home and
made inquiries with the British Geological Survey and British Airport
Authority.
The facts
Meteors are fragments of space rock that burn up in the atmosphere, and
can be viewed as a light that shoots across the sky.
A meteorite can survive the intense heat generated as it enters the
atmosphere and impact with the Earth's surface without being destroyed.

When in outer space, the rocks are known as a meteoroids. Larger chunks
of space rock often appear as fast moving fireballs - sometimes known as
brilliant meteors.
There are thought to be an estimated 500 meteorites, ranging in size
from marbles to basketballs, that hit the Earth's surface each year,
although only a handful are reported to scientists.

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