Re: Space Junk or Comet?????
Posted by Don in Hollister on August 09, 2000 at 21:41:51:

Hi Bob. The more I look at the image the more I believe in may be a meteor although can’t rule out space junk. I would rule out a plane also, as a plane could not have cleared the area beneath the satellite in 30 minutes.
I don’t think it’s a comet. The satellite is about 23,000 miles above the earth. This would mean that the comet would have to pass between the earth and the satellite. I don’t think a comet could have come this close to the earth and not have been seen long before it arrived.
However a meteor could. When putting the picture under a scanner you can see the contrail behind it. It starts all at once and has a slight curve to however this could be an optical illusion.
However this brings up this question. If this is a meteor why is it that we don’t see more of this? It would be very interesting to learn what the professional have to say about this. Take Care…Don in creepy town.