July 8, 2008

UFO panic grips Israel

http://www.jewishjournal.com/blog/item/ufo_panic_grips_israel_20080708/

A meteor entered the skies of central Israel on Tuesday night at about 8:15 p.m. Astronomers had failed to predict the arrival of this large hunk of rock, which apparently freaked out a number of Israelis, JPost and Haaretz reported.

Yigal Pat-El, chairman of the Israeli Union of Astronomers, told Army Radio that the meteor was exceptionally large, and that its entry into the atmosphere was not expected.
Nevertheless, he emphasized that this was not an uncommon occurrence.
"Meteors enter the Earth's atmosphere all the time - it's not a rare phenomenon. The meteor was relatively large - most do not weigh a thousandth of a gram, and it seems this meteor would have weighed a few grams," he said.

I'm still pondering Haaretz's "Meteor sighting sparks UFO panic in Israel" headline. What does it say when Israelis, who are have been pounded by rockets over the last few years, go to "little green men" when there's something bright and noisy in the sky?