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The pair admired the glow then noticed it’s light flicker, extinguish momentarily, and bound toward Earth eventually landing in a location between TJ Maxx, O&G Industries, Route 8, and Charlotte Hungerford Hospital.
"It didn’t like explode or anything," Glenn said Wednesday. "As it got closer (into the Carlsons’ view) it kind of flared up and it kind of blacked out."
Glenn said he was certain the object wasn’t a bottle rocket or any mysterious visitor from outer space, merely a meteor speeding wayward through the atmosphere.
"It was pretty neat," Glenn said.
Susan French, vice president of the board of trustees for the Dudley Observatory in Schenectady, N.Y. and a star party coordinator for the Albany Amateur Astronomers Club, said the Carlsons indeed might have seen a meteor.
The only thing, she said, is a meteorite, once it hovers about 12 miles above the Earth, extinguishes itself entirely and could land anywhere at anytime. So pinpointing an exact location from a streak in the sky would be nearly impossible.
Most people identify fallen meteorites if the chunk of space rock hits something, such as a house or a car, or if a person stumbles upon something strange in a wooded area, French said.
"There always are meteor showers," she continued. "There’s a good chance he saw a meteor."
A meteor, or shooting star, rapidly crosses the sky in about 15 seconds, whereas a satellite or an airplane takes much longer, French explained. And this time of year is ripe for meteors, as the March showers are now coming to an end.
The only thing about which French was skeptical was the height the Carlsons said they saw the object. Generally, 60 miles in the air is when people see the burning rocks.
But then again, some could say it might have been something other than a meteor.
