At the most basic level, there are only two, obvious possibilities that can explain the fireballs: Either they are the result of natural phenomena or they are due to some intelligent source. Let’s consider the options for both:
Nature
The fireballs by themselves seem to occur randomly and without warning. An intelligently controlled (or at least initiated) phenomenon would presumably follow some pattern. While some have argued one seemed to emerge in t
heir nearness to nuclear facilities, we really can only arrive at this correlation by ignoring the fireballs that occur elsewhere (i.e. the middle of Ft. Worth). Unless we take a step of blind faith and presume that there must be a pattern, from what I’ve read, we cannot arrive at this conclusion based on the evidence. Next, one would be justified in asking, "If the fireballs are anything more than randomly occurring natural events, what would their purpose be?" Presumably our own citizens and government, foreign nations, demonic or angelic entities, and hypothetical extra-terrestrials all have better things to do than shooting off gigantic green flares at odd hours on weekends over the course of at least six decades. Again, unless we presume in advance that there must be some purpose, we have no direct evidence to suggest that they are anything more than pretty (strange) fireworks.
Also, there is at least a precedent for naturally occurring green colored meteors. A number of astronomy websites make mention of green tinged examples from the Leonid showers. The picture above and the one to the right show two examples. All of this, at least, would seem to point to the fireballs being some sort of heretofore unidentified natural phenomena. Intelligence
But the arguments for nature do not have it all their own way. There are a number of points in favor of the fireballs being a result of something more than run-of-the-mill causes.
The fireballs do not seem to really fit any known natural phenomena. They behave unlike anything standard science can currently explain. Their trajectory is almost always parallel to the earth, like an aircraft, while “shooting stars” usually enter the atmosphere at a sharper angle. The fireballs never leave the long trail or dust cloud associated with meteors. They have appeared and disappeared at altitudes ranging from 2000 to more than 60,000 feet. While they move fast, they are definitely slower than standard shooting stars. Anyone who observes one—including the present author—would say that they could never mistake one for a standard meteorite. The green Leonids pictured above look nothing like what I saw in the sky that night.
Another problem facing naturalistic origin theories is the complete lack of an impact sites or significant remnants. I know that the example I observed was huge and not very high in the air. It was large and low enough for me to be able to discern the individual sparks coming off of it as it sailed past. Something like that should make some kind of impact, somewhere. Had it been a standard meteor of that size, still intact at that altitude, we could rightly expect Ft. Worth to be sporting a very large crater the next morning. And yet, nothing.
The fact that copper traces have been found in connection with the fireballs might make sense at first (powdered copper burns green and is a common ingredient in fireworks), but it might actually deepen the mystery. While virtually every paranormal site or book I’ve consulted remarks on the near impossibility of copper meteorites, according to one scholarly source there are some types of meteorites (Chrondritic) that contain significant amounts of copper. Also, some iron meteorites contain trace amounts of copper that might burn off (though it’s doubtful that “trace amounts” can account for the sheer size of the average fireball. Still, copper meteorites seem to be rare, at least, as several alleged specimens have been listed as “discredited” and “disproved.”
The fireballs’ initial appearance at lower altitudes and standard flight path result in a particularly knotty problem for the space-object interpretation. Are we really expected to believe that an object from space made up of rare materials enters earth’s atmosphere at a high rate of speed, somehow manages to slow itself, and then levels off its flight path at heights as low as 2000 feet before igniting itself into all of its sparkly green glory for one to five seconds? Accepting this involves as much, if not more, blind faith than presuming the fireballs have patterns and purpose.
Two more items, dealt with quickly, on the side of intelligent origins:
- Jerome Clark, in his article on the subject in The UFO Book lumps the green fireballs in with other, stranger lights that also appeared in the southwest. These lights are smaller and behave in ways that virtually preclude natural explanations (interaction with observers, radical and repeated changes in direction, etc.). Unfortunately, he never draws a strong connection between the two phenomena. The correlation seems to be merely that they all occurred in the southwestern states and Mexico. If someone could find evidence to fully and completely link the two, the case in favor of intelligent origins would be strengthened notably.
- One possible explanation can be dismissed quickly: the idea that the fire balls are nothing more than human-made space junk making random re-entries into the atmosphere. While this might account for of the presence of copper, there are a number of obvious problems with this idea. First, the fireballs were observed as early as 1947, a full ten years prior to Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite. Also, this theory does not address any of the problems raised by the fireballs’ odd flight paths, slow speed, and (at times) low altitudes. Whatever the explanation, it isn’t that simple.
To be concluded in Part III….
References:
- Clark, Jerome. The UFO Book: Encyclopedia of the Extraterrestrial. Visible Ink, 1998.
- "Green Fireballs." Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_fireballs
- “Green Meteorite (??) spotted North of Toronto.” http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread311869/pg1
- Kenkman, Thomas, Friedrich Hörz, and Alexander Deutsch.” Large Meteorite Impacts III. Geological Society of America, 2005 p. 294. http://books.google.com/books?id=QMwt9iaYA9gC
- E's..ARN's History of Meteorites. © 1996,2006 Astronomical Research Network. http://www.meteorites4sale.net/MET_E.HTM.
- First Image from: “Blink and you miss it,” Flotsam and Jetsam, http://thetomzone.vox.com/library/posts/tags/astronomy+geek/
- Second image from: Lodigruss, Jerry. “Leonid Fireball and Persistent Train.” Catching the Light. http://www.astropix.com/HTML/F_COMETS/LEONID1.HTM.
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