Posted on: 6:45 pm, October 31, 2012, by Jennifer Watson, updated on: 08:33pm, October 31, 2012

8:30PM UPDATE: Dr. Bill Cooke of NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center:

Update on our visitor from the asteroid belt:

1) Eyewitness reports put the meteor in the same area as the doppler echo good confirmation. Check out the clump of lines in the map NW of Cullman (along with the eyewitness accounts) at this link: http://www.amsmeteors.org/fireball_event/2012/1681

The American Meteor Society did a great job analyzing these reports!

2) The fireball (meteor) traveled from South to North (more SSE to NNW).

3) I sent a search team down to the area indicated by the doppler signature. They spent several hours searching along the roads and other spots where meteorites would be relatively easy to spot. Nothing they saw screamed meteorite, but they did bring a few specimens back for a closer look. We are meeting around 8:30 AM tomorrow, and I will probably send another group down on Friday after we have had a few hours to think about how to improve the search.

4) There have been six recorded meteorite falls in Alabama they are:

Danville November 27, 1868 Frankfort December 5, 1868 Felix May 15, 1900 Leighton January 12, 1907 Athens July 11, 1933 Sylacauga November 30, 1954

If a piece of this meteor is found, we will have a seventh fall. BTW, meteorites are named after the closest town/city to their fall location. So the Athens meteorite fell in or near Athens, and so forth.

Visit link:

Valleywx.com: Possible Meteorites Have Been Found In Alabama