On Jan. 6, I was out for an evening walk on Silver Street in South Hadley. It was a clear night with the Big Dipper and Polaris on full display. About 175 meters east of the intersection with Silver Street and Route 116, heading west, I observed a very bright meteor streak across the sky from south to north at approximately 10:13 p.m.
From my vantage point, the object’s trajectory seemed to be directly above and parallel to the crest of the Mount Tom Range. The object came in at a very low angle, approximately 3 degrees to the horizon. It generated an orange and yellow fireball that extinguished in the sky in a position approximately above the Oxbow. Considering its trajectory, if any pieces of the object reached the ground they may very well have landed in Northampton. I ask residents to be on the lookout for meteorites — and also ask if anyone else recalls seeing this impressive shooting star.
Mark A. S. McMenamin
South Hadley