Sonic Boom Wakes Twitterers
Posted by ws1 on:
There was a very loud sonic boom (more like a bang) this morning about half way through the 8am hour. Unless you took some sleeping pills or were laying in a sensory deprivation tank, you probably jumped this morning like I did.
After doing a quick search on twitter for 'sonic boom', I saw that the local twitterverse (twitterbarbara?) had indeed taken note of the bang.
I wish I could say that I had been glued to my computer all morning, faithfully watching streaming video of the landing (as I did during the Discovery mission directly following the Columbia disaster), but I wasn't. I was sound asleep having a dream about my friend turning into a monster and chasing me down some strange beach in Mexico, when I levitated out of bed because I thought a bus had slammed into my apartment building.
The boom/bang felt much louder than what I remember from childhood (I think Edwards Air Force Base hosted more shuttle landings in the 80's), though I do remember doors in my parents house doors shifting open and closed from time to time during shuttle re-entries.
Since you all probably heard/felt it. I'll spare you any more of my own impressions and instead list/quote a few amusing local twitterers reactions to it, and then a few fun 'sonic boom' links. Enjoy.
littlecassalina: got woken up this morning by a sonic boom!? wtf...i thought the world was ending
ScottStrandell: Thought I was experiencing a CA earthquake. Not exactly, it was the sonic boom from Space Shuttle Atlantis returning safely to Edwards AFB!
andisigrid: BOOM BOOM went the sonic boom from the space shuttle, hubby thought something fell on the house! HAHA
1jonmuir: @lorilyg the sonic boom seemed extra loud but it might be I had my bedroom window open
and my favorite (apparently from a local dog):
sbpuppy: Recovering from a sudden noise. The people called a sonic boom, whatever that is. I didn't like it.
Here's the NASA video from this morning:
Some Sonic Boom/NASA Links:
An article about the shuttle landing from NPR
If you use Twitter, I highly recommend following @nasa
Here is a cool list of NASA shuttle missions.
Here is a link to the Wikipedia page on Sonic Booms and the sound barrier.
And lastly, here is a really fun video that explains sonic booms by 'sciencemadefun':
• As an aside.. at the SB Tweetup on Thursday, many people were debating the inevitable 'inaccuracies' when events occur. While it is a supremely important conversation to have, sometimes the 'human response' (and initial reaction) is interesting (and even useful). I actually like hearing the local chatter, because it gives you a sense of where the public is at on any given issue/event - informed or not.
--thanks to latzinis for the use of the shuttle photo (which is I believe a picture of the launch - not re-entry).
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