A meteor about the size of a basketball or a small file cabinet entered the atmosphere over Colorado Springs on Tuesday night and burned itself up by the time it passed over Hotchkiss.
The object was traveling at an estimated 76,000 mph when it entered the atmosphere about 70 to 80 miles above the Earth’s surface at 7:29 p.m.
It glowed nearly as bright as the moon for about 10 seconds before burning up, said Chris Peterson, director of Cloudbait Observatory in Guffey and a researcher at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
“These happen a few times a year,” Peterson said. “This one was caught by cameras from Casper, Wyo., to Santa Fe, N.M., which helps us triangulate its exact path. It was pretty big. Most are about the size of a pea.
“Nobody knows when these are coming. They’re completely random.”
Peterson captured the trajectory on a video camera at his observatory in Guffey, on the southern edge of South Park. Another camera at Douglas County High School in Castle Rock captured it as well.
Because there was no noticeable explosion, Peterson guessed that the rock meteor probably burned itself out before hitting the ground. “There could be a few pieces of rock in a field somewhere,” he said. “We’d love to hear if anyone finds them.”
Peterson asked that any witnesses to the event contact him at .
Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com
