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Mysterious light in sky, loud explosion rattles nerves in Hampton Roads

10:36 AM EDT on Tuesday, March 31, 2009

13NEWS

(VIRGINIA BEACH) - Emergency crews fanned out across the city looking for whatever caused a loud explosion Sunday night.

By Monday afternoon, there were many theories about what happened.

Dr. Robert Hitt, director of the Chesapeake Planetarium, believes a basketball-sized meteor, traveling approx 100,000 mph, was responsible for the disturbance.

He says most meteors are about the size of a golf ball and burn up on entry, so it had to be larger than that to produce the sonic boom.

A report on Space.com says a falling Russian rocket was to blame. The Website cites Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. He says he checked the listing for debris expected to enter the lower atmosphere from their decaying orbits around this time period. He found that second stage of the Soyuz rocket that launched last Thursday was to hit during a window that started at 8 p.m.

But by Tuesday morning, the observatory reversed its position, stating it was likely a meteor.

At around 9:45 911 dispatchers started receiving calls from people reporting a light in the sky followed by a loud boom.

Video: Unknown light and loud boom over Hampton Roads
Larger screen

Some reported that the explosion caused their homes to shake. Several callers to WVEC reported their doors and windows rattled from the explosion.

Emergency crews could find no evidence of any kind of explosion, however. No injuries, fires or damage were reported.

Hitt said he has spoken with two amateur astronomers who were out observing the sky Sunday night and saw the object. He said the object moved so fast, neither of them had time to pick up a camera.

The National Weather Service had few answers.

Meteorologist Jennifer McNatt said the service had been in touch with the Navy, Air Force and NASA, but none of those organizations had any unusual activity to report.

Officials at Norfolk International Airport had received reports of the light and explosion but said nothing was out of the ordinary at the airport.

The National Weather Service did tell officials in Virginia Beach that the reports of the light and the bang were coming in from Maryland to North Carolina.

The National Weather Service released this statement at 11:17pm Sunday:

"Numerous reports have been called in to this office and into local law enforcement concerning what appeared to be flashes of light in the sky over the Suffolk/Virginia Beach area. We are confident in saying that this was not lightning...and have been in contact with military and other government agencies to determine the cause. So far...we have not seen or heard of any damage from this and will continue to inquire as to the cause."

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