Every so often, I think about what I saw, more than twenty years ago. I’m calling it a meteorite, but I don’t know if that’s what it was. I had left the school building later than usual – perhaps it was a rehearsal for a play – and was in the playground when some instinct made me look up. It was daylight, but approaching dusk. I spotted something, against the blue-gray sky. A roughly elongated black rock, tumbling over and over, leaving a black trail of dust. It was probably in view for only a few seconds before disappearing behind the rooftops. I remember pointing it out and maybe a couple of people noticed it, but no one seemed bothered. What puzzles me is that meteorites are bright and leave trails of light in the sky, because they’re burning up in the atmosphere. This one was dark. I suppose it could have been the leftovers of a burning meteorite, but it seemed rather large. Had it looked like the typical shooting star, I wouldn’t have remembered it so clearly. For some reason, I’ve held on to this memory. Maybe because, in a very small way, it exemplifies the unknown. What was it? Does anyone else remember seeing it? Did it reach the ground intact? A little online research tells me that the Leonids in November 1999 were particularly good, which may help date my sighting but leaves my questions unanswered.
That’s interesting, I’ve never seen a meteorite, though I did once see four strange green lights in the sky that lingered there in daylight for about five minutes before disappearing into a cloud. I’ve never heard of seeing something so dark, unless it was a different object in the sky 😮
I’m sure I’ll always wonder about it! Hmm that sounds a bit X-Files!