Tom, you posted this link earlier about the guy in the Bay area who recorded "what appear to be bright electrical phenomena flashing around the track of the shuttle's passage."

In view of the fact that the anonymous photographer "...invited The Chronicle to view the photos on his computer screen Saturday night," I'm assuming the images exist, but I haven't seen any follow-up on the story, and I'm wondering just what transpired.

"They show a bright scraggly flash of orange light, tinged with pale purple, and shaped somewhat like a deformed L. The flash appears to cross the Columbia's dim contrail, and at that precise point, the contrail abruptly brightens and appears thicker and somewhat twisted as if it were wobbling."

If the images are valid, they might hold the key to the mystery.

Comments?

sp