Subj:	Mass Sighting of Meteor Over Northeastern U.S.
Date:	9/6/01 8:07:21 AM Pacific Daylight Time

September 6 9:39 AM ET

Mass Sighting of Meteor Over Northeastern U.S.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A blazing meteor streaked across the
sky in the northeastern United States on Thursday, giving
early risers from North Carolina to New York a spectacular
fiery display.

U.S. Naval Observatory spokesman Geoff Chester said rocks,
or meteors, falling out of the sky were not unusual but that
it was rare for so many people to witness them.

"This one was so visible because of clear blue skies and the
fact that it happened when people were getting ready to
leave for work or collecting their newspaper," said Chester.

Thousands of people jammed telephone lines to local radio
and television stations and emergency hotlines to report the
sighting of the meteor at around 6 a.m. EDT.

Chester said the streak of light was visible for several
seconds and that the meteor probably measured anything from
the size of a toaster to a small car.

Meteors are small stony objects that plunge from space into
the Earth's atmosphere every few weeks. The last major U.S.
meteor sighting was in July over the mid-Atlantic, when
people from Virginia to upstate New York reported seeing a
fireball.