S m i t h s o n i a n A s t r o p h y s i c a l O b s e r v a t o r y and H a r v a r d College O b s e r v a t o r y , C a m b r i d g e , M a s s a c h u s e t t s 021 38T h e L o s t City m e t e o r i t e was photographed i n flight and r e c o v e r e d by t h e P r a i r i e Network. F o u r f r a g m e n t s totaling 17 kg have been found. ALI analysis of a t h i r d m e t e o r , No, 405 0 3 , is p r e s e n t e d a s a counterexample t o the above a r g u m e n t 'This mete o r of 1 00 t i m e s the intensity of L o s t City r e a c h e d m a x i m u m light and then w a s extinguished nearly instantaneously. We recognize t h a t t h i s i s a different kind of m e t e o r o i d but have no s a t i s f a c t o r y explanation f o r i t s behavior. P h o t o m e t r i c and t r a j e c t o r y d a t a f o r the L o s t City m e t e o r and f o r a subs e q u e n t m e t e o r (No. 4061 7) with s i m i l a r flight c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a r e u s e d t o e s t a b l i s h a p r e l i m i n a r y c a l i b r a t i o n of the m a s s s c a l e of o t h e r f i r e b a l l s . T h e r e i s e x c e l l e n t a g r e e m e n t between t h e p h o t o m e t r i c m a s s e s d e r i v e d f r o m t h e m o s t r e c e n t d e t e r m i n a t i o n of t h e luminous efficiency of the m e t e o r i c p r o c e s s , and the dynamic m a s s e s d e t e r m i n e d f r o m the t r a j e c t o r y and the s h a p e of the r e c o v e r e d m e t e o r i t e . It i s unlikely t h a t p h o t o m e t r i c m a s s e s a r e o v e r e s t i m a t e d by a s m u c h a s a f a c t o r ofT h e o r b i t s of t h e s e m e t e o r s a r e s i m i l a r t o t h o s e of m o s t o t h e r f i r e b a l l s . . T H E LOST CITY M E T E O RT h e L o s t City m e t e o r o c c u r r e d o v e r n o r t h e a s t e r n Oklahoma a t 2014 CST on J a n u a r y 3, 1970. T h e f i r e b a l l a t m a x i m u m light was c o m p a r a b l e i n b r i g h tn e s s t o the full moon. It w a s widely o b s e r v e d . Sonic booms w e r e r e p o r t e d 2 to have b e e n h e a r d o v e r a n a r e a of about 1000 k m between T u l s a and Tahlequah.2 W e l l -c o n f i r m e d r e p o r t s of t h e audio event c o v e r a n a r e a of a t l e a s t 300 k m , T h e m e t e o r was photographed f r o m f o u r P r a i r i e Network s t a t i o n s i n Hominy and Woodward, Oklahoma, and P l e a s a n t o n and G a r d e n City, K a n s a s D u r i n g t h e l a s t 1. 5 s e c of t h e t r a i l , t h r e e s e p a r a t e f r a g m e n t s a r e visible on t h e Hominy photograph. The o t h e r , m o r e distant s t a t i o n s e i t h e r do not show t h e end portion of t h e t r a i l o r have insvlficient resolution, The f a i n t e s t t r a i l (111) i s well separated on the photograph frorn the brightest (I) i o r the l.ast I s e c of its trajectory-and can be m e a s u r e d a s a s e p a r a t e object. At m its end h e i g h t ( 2 4 icrulj, the veiccity i s 4 lirnjsec, L he t r a i l of irrterrnediate brightness (11) i ...

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