NUFORC Sighting 23588

Occurred: 2002-06-17 21:30 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2002-07-03 22:00 Pacific
Duration: 3 seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: Hurley, NM, USA

Shape: Other
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object

Check this meteor out!

I was helping my wife but mostly keeping her company while hanging clothes she had washed. My kids were outside also. I love to search the heavens and look at stars and planets. What I believe I saw this night was either a meteor or an asteroid. Nothing uncommon about that except.. It was pretty darn big.
Later that week I read in the newspaper that we had a close shave with an asteroid. The paper described it as being 120 yards big and got as close as 75,000 miles which would be a third of the way to the moon. There is no way my eyes could have seen that. If I held a nickle at arms length above my head that is how big this meteor or asteroid would have been. The shape of it was kind of squarish at the tail side. the way I saw the shape was of the greenish color that you would see as in shooting star. But this was pretty faint. As though it was barely skimming the atmosphere. Which is what, ten miles? As soon as I saw it I pointed towards it and said, excitedly, LOOK LOOK LOOK trying to point it out to my family. And it was gone that quick.
If this was indeed an asteroid how big was it? Did anybody pick this one out? Was I the only one who saw this? I pretty sure I know what I saw! It could have been devasating if it would have hit us. Comments?



NUFORC Note:

Date is approximate. PD


Posted 2002-07-26

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