Front Page News

Sep.03 2009

by Mike Hankey, under Mason Dixon Meteor

Lancaster County paper had a front page news story about the meteorite hunt:

http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/241689

I’ve already gotten some really great leads from the article. If anyone out there from Lancaster knows anything or wants to help, please leave me a comment on the blog or email me : mike.hankey [AT] gmail.com

Thanks!

Mike

:Mason Dixon Meteor, Meteor Update, press

5 Comments for this entry

Barbara
September 3rd, 2009 on 11:54 am
Mike, saw the great article in the paper yesterday. I work in the Library at Millersville University. Did any of your pictures come from our camera above our building? Your work is very cool !!!!!
Norm
September 3rd, 2009 on 4:20 pm
Hey Mike, Thanks for keeping us updated on current events. Can you give us an idea when the corn crops are pulled? I agree with your comment about a the small amount of time we have untill the snow goes flying. We have to pull a meteorite from those fields before winter hits. When the first person does find a chunk they better break off a piece for Mike Hankey. Like a 2 kilo piece. Cya soon, Norm
Mike Hankey
September 3rd, 2009 on 8:54 pm
Barbara,

Thanks for writing me. The email I sent you earlier was from my phone so I’m not sure if it made sense. What I was trying to say was if you could talk to your security people and see if they still have footage from July 6th, 2009 1:00-1:10. We have a lot of video footage already, but every additional piece we get helps narrow things down even more.

Also, I’ve gotten some good leads from the article. A very nice woman wrote me and said she heard a big bang that night outside her window and then noticed the next morning that her patio roof under the window was damaged. I saw her today (didn’t find any meteorites yet, but we didn’t search much, going back tomorrow to do full search). She said that she was watching Ghost Hunters at the time and the noise really scared her. So I was wondering, would your library have newspapers that might have tv listings for lancaster / New Holland on July 6th. The reason I ask is if we can pin down the time/date she heard the noise it will corroborate her story. e.g. if Ghost Hunters was not on at 1:00am July 6th, then maybe a kid jumped on the roof. If ghost hunters was on at 1:00 am then there should be meteorites in the backyard.

Thanks being interested in this and writing me.

Mike
m
October 15th, 2009 on 10:37 am
I’d like to know how this fall was dubbed “the mason dixon meteor” ????? –Obviously, if found, mason dixon will not be the official name…In fact, what was wrong with just calling it the pa fireball ? We cant just start making up whatever names we want for these events…
Mike Hankey
October 15th, 2009 on 1:37 pm
It initially got the name because it crossed the Mason Dixon line and the majority of the witnesses that saw it lived close to the Mason Dixon line. There were actually more or at least as many witnesses from Maryland that saw it as from PA so I think the media in Baltimore did not want to call it the PA Fireball.

Its gone by a few other names so far, including the Baltimore Meteor, the PA Fireball and the Lancaster Meteor.

When the meteorites are found it will officially be named after the closest town to the fall, right? I suppose until that time comes the name is unofficial and different people call it different things. I’m really not sure who initially came up with the Mason Dixon Meteor name at first but I think it was the Baltimore Sun that popularized it.