Re-entry object or meteor?

finn@main.jetnet.ab.ca
Mon, 1 Dec 1997 18:05:38 -0700

I've seen numerous items plummetting to earth over the years, including one
that was close enough for me to hear it. I know most are meteors but is
there a way to determine when one sees a fireball in the sky if it's man
made or if it's natural?

As a prime example, yesterday at approx 17:15L i saw an object re-enter and
from my viewpoint it had a very low re-entry angle. There are some power
lines directly behind my house and it was parallel to them all the time. It
travelled south to north, being visible for several seconds, it covered
about 25 degrees of sky and it moved quite a bit slower than "normal"
meteors. So was it a meteor or a piece of space debris? 

Jari

  54.2500 N
-110.1100 W
 556 meters