Residents of Carroll, Douglas and Haralson counties heard it, and officials in all three counties tried to find what caused it.
They're still trying.
Douglas County Communication Director Wes Tallon said "911 calls lit up" the switchboard after the 9:45 p.m. noise rattled windows across a large area of west Georgia.
"There was no catastrophe, we know that," Tallon told the AJC Saturday morning.
Tallon, who lives in East Douglas, did not hear the blast. But plenty of people in the western area of the county, and in Carroll and Haralson counties farther to the west, did hear it.
Villa Rica authorities dispatched several police and fire units to the Mirror Lake subdivision when the sound was first reported, but they found no damage or even smoke.
"People all over the city heard the boom, but we couldn't find anything," a police department receptionist said late Friday.
The National Weather Service in Peachtree City had no natural explanation for it. And there were no obvious signs of damage on the ground.
An amateur astronomer who has published several books about sky-watching said one could probably rule out a natural phenomenon such as a meteorite.
"A really big meteor can make a sonic boom, but if it did it would make a big flash of light," said the author, Michael Covington, who helps run a computer research program at the University of Georgia when he's not star-gazing.
So far, no one has reported seeing a flash in the sky, and the National Weather Service says that the clouds that were moving over Villa Rica Friday evening were mostly gone by the time of the unexplained sound.
Tallon said no one who called 911 reported fires or explosions. And he said no utility companies reported trouble either.
"We’ve called everyone under the sun trying to figure this one out," said Tallon. "We used the process of elimination and the only thing we can think of is that it was a sonic boom of some kind. To be able to be heard and felt 30 miles away in Haralson County it had to be something like that."
But there is a problem with that theory, too.
A sonic boom is a large shock wave created by an aircraft that exceeds the speed of sound, about 761 mph. Since the retirement of the supersonic Concord, no civilian aircraft has been capable of reaching that speed, said Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
"Only military planes make sonic booms," she told the AJC Saturday afternoon.
Bergen checked with radar installations in the area at the request of the AJC and confirmed that there were no logs of military flights around the time of the boom Friday night. And there shouldn't have been, anyway.
Military planes are only supposed to fly fast in designated zones, Bergen said, and there are none in that part of Georgia.
**********
WHAT WAS THE MYSTERY SONIC BOOM IN GEORGIA?
popfi - In the evening hours, residents of three Georgia counties, Carroll, Douglas, and Haralson, were settling down to a relaxing post-Thanksgiving Friday. Then, their night was shattered by a huge explosion. The noise is easily explained away, but the cause remains to be determined. When an airplane travels faster than the speed of sound, the resulting noise is a horrifying explosive thunder known as a sonic boom. Usually, the only airplanes breaking the sound barrier are military aircraft, but according to the FAA, there are no military flyover zones in the area of Georgia where the mysterious sonic boom was heard. Rural Georgia was rocked by a sonic boom that seems to have no cause.
Not only were there no military aircraft in the area, there were also no meteors spotted, according to amateur astronomer Michael Covington. There were no bright lights that would be associated with a meteor, no explosions, and no damage to anything in the area where the booming was heard.
Douglas County Communication Director Wes Tallon was left grasping for explanations as to just what tore a hole in the Georgia sky. “There was no catastrophe, we know that,” Tallon told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “We’ve called everyone under the sun trying to figure this one out. We used the process of elimination and the only thing we can think of is that it was a sonic boom of some kind. To be able to be heard and felt 30 miles away in Haralson County it had to be something like that.”
Send us an email
New Items - Strickler's Celebrity Autographs
ANOMALIST BOOKS
Works on maverick science, unexplained mysteries, unorthodox theories, strange talents, and unexpected discoveries. Please check out their excellent and diverse catalog
The 'C' Influence
Actualizing Esoteric Discussion
"The latest news from beyond the mainstream"
Join Ben & Aaron for their weekly podcast!
Check out Mysterious Universe Plus+ all access format!
Spirit Rescue International
Providing no cost professional spiritual help, personal support and guidance
Take the first step towards genuine peace of mind
SPIRIT RESCUE INTERNATIONAL - HAUNTED HELP
Spiritual, paranormal and supernatural guidance and support using remote viewing and other complementary therapies - all are welcome
Phantoms & Monsters Wiki
A NETWORK OF INVESTIGATORS, ENTHUSIASTS AND THOSE SEEKING THE TRUTH
THROUGH PARANORMAL EDUCATION AND DISCUSSION
Astral Perceptions - Discussion of interterrestrial and multidimensional phenomena including
conversations on the proficiency of remote viewing
SUPPLY BASE
Buy alternative supplies and gifts
CLICK HERE!
