Fire in the SkyS


Fireball 2

Meteorites found from September British Columbia, Alberta fireball

Scott Sutherland
The Weather Network
Fri, 10 Nov 2017 13:39 UTC
Meteorites recovered from the Kootenay region, near Crawford Bay, B.C., from the bright fireball seen on September 4, 2017
© Colin Hall/CBCMeteorites recovered from the Kootenay region, near Crawford Bay, B.C., from the bright fireball seen on September 4, 2017
When cameras captured a bright meteor fireball streak across the sky over B.C. and Alberta back in September, it sparked a search for fragments of the space rock that caused it, and this search appears to have paid off!

As often as meteors streak across the night sky, and even how many times we see bright fireball meteors, it's a rare thing to actually find pieces of the meteoroid that produced the flash of light.

According to meteorite hunter Geoff Notkin, searching for meteorites after a fall was an exhausting task, involving travelling all over the area where the fireball was seen, interviewing witnesses, and compiling a trajectory for the meteoroid as it plowed through the atmosphere. Starting in 2009, this became much easier, as scientists began to explore the use of Doppler radar in picking up these objects, to determine where they fell.

Comment: See also: Large meteor fireball lights up night sky over British Columbia, Canada

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Fireball 2

Meteor fireball observed over California, Arizona and Nevada


Sott.net
Fri, 10 Nov 2017 06:59 UTC
California meteor fireball map
© American Meteor Society (screen capture)
The American Meteor Society (AMS) has received 17 reports (event 4157-2017) about a meteor fireball seen over California, Arizona and Nevada on Wednesday, November 8th 2017 around 09:22 UT.


Comment: Another bright meteor fireball lit up the skies over Utah earlier today. Wayne Frunein, who captured the celestial event on his home door camera said, "Suddenly got really bright and then we saw a streak across the sky. It was bright white at first and then it burst into many colors. It was really beautiful. It was spectacular."

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Fireball 2

Bright meteor fireball explodes over northern Germany


Sott.net
Wed, 08 Nov 2017 16:49 UTC
Meteor fireball over Germany
© YouTube/AMS (screen capture)
The American Meteor Society (AMS) has received 23 reports of a bright meteor fireball exploding over northern Germany around 20:56 UT on November 6, 2017. The event (#4145-2017) was also observed from the neighbouring countries of Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, and France.


Comment: Readers interested in the changing near-space environment might enjoy our research into increased asteroid and fireball activity - including its causes, effects, and role in human history - in Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection (you can also read a review of the book here).

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Attention

UPDATE: San Diego rocked by a loud boom and shaking; USGS reports it was not an earthquake


RT
Thu, 02 Nov 2017 13:39 UTC
san diego skyline
© Mike Blake / ReutersThe skyline of San Diego.
San Diego residents have reported loud booms and sensations of shaking. The US Geological Survey said there were no signs of an earthquake, but an independent group did confirm seismic activity.

Residents described experiencing the boom from Alpine to El Cajon, Carmel Valley, National CIty, Eastlake and as far south as Tijuana in Mexico.

"Yeah, [I'm in San Diego] currently and every one in my job heard the [boom] and then felt a shake [afterwards], we thought something had crashed or something," wrote a poster to KNSD's website.

Fifteen minutes outside of San Diego, Luis Hernandez told KNSD that he felt the ground begin to shake. Hernandez said his friends felt it too and he described it as an earthquake.

Comment: UPDATE: Mexico has a possible explanation for this event (if you believe it). Strange Sounds reports:
So what the heck in Mexico?

The official explanation is the following:


In English, it says:
'We inform that the event occurred this morning at 11:56 a.m. Pacific Time, WAS NOT AN EARTHQUAKE. The sensors of the Seismic Network of the CICESE recorded vibrations that are believed to be related to a meteorological phenomenon generated when hot and cold air masses clash together. This violent collision can produces a BOOM that can make the windows vibrate. Analyses of seismic stations of Tijuana show that the event isn't similar to an earthquake.'
OFFICIALS have already used the same explanation (brutal clash between a cold and a warm front) to explain the mysterious apparition of light columns in the sky of Argentina on October 24, 2017:

column pillar of light over Argentina
Mysterious column of light appears over Argentina.
Of course, residents are now questioning this OFFICIAL answer. There were also trainings at Camp Pendleton.

So what's going on? Are they testing a new kind of weather weapon? In the mean time GET READY!
The question is: Why is it that no one considered the possibility of a bolide entering the atmosphere? Is it because falling rocks are scary when they become something more than shooting stars?

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Fireball 2

Several reports of meteor fireball in sky over California, seen from Lake Tahoe


South Tahoe Now.com
Mon, 06 Nov 2017 17:50 UTC
meteor
File image
People from Fresno to Santa Rosa, California reported seeing a fireball across the sky Sunday evening around 5:24 p.m.

The American Meteor Society (AMS) received 19 reports from observers who said "the light got bigger before it burst, leaving a trail of smaller balls before disappearing," "it was a white streak followed by a few tiny fragments. Ended in the main fireball turning to a green color," and "it was flickering and sparkly, like a roman candle being shot across the sky."

South Shore resident Greg Felton said he was headed west on Highway 50 when he saw the bright ball across the sky towards Pyramid Peak.

South Tahoe Now contacted the University of California, Berkeley Astronomy Department, Beale AFB in Marysville and the National Weather Service in Reno before tracking down information on AMS.

Comment: View our dedicated topic pages concerning meteor fireball reports here.

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Fireball

Meteor fireball caught on CCTV footage over South African city

Nic Andersen
The South African
Mon, 06 Nov 2017 17:33 UTC
Meteor over SA
© YouTube/Roodepoort Record
A meteor in full flight is a spectacular sight that most of us don't get to see in person up close. Where real life fails, technology and social media have stepped in to make sure we don't miss a thing.

The Roodepoort Record reports that a local resident and his wife made an interesting discovery while reviewing their CCTV footage. The man wanted to assist his neighbour in Vuurlelie Street after their dog was poisoned, so he thought he would take a look at the footage.

While they might not have found information about the dog, they did discover a meteor shooting through the sky around 9PM on Sunday.

While it only lasted a few seconds, the sheer brightness and apparent proximity of the object should be enough to satisfy your curiosity.

You can see the video of the event below.
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Meteor fireball captured over central Japan

Yasushi Aoshima
Space Weather
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 18:57 UTC
Fireball over Japan
© SonotaCo
A fireball came from Orionids radiant point. The persistent trains spread to the whole sky.

Data:

EF8-15mmF4(at 8mmF4), CanonEOS6D, 12800 ISO, 15sec each;

1) 67x15sec GIF (14:11:40-30:50 UT),
2) 2x15sec stacked 61 frames GIF (14:11:40-46:25 UT),
3) 14:12:25-40 UT

This fireball was observed and analyzed by another Japanese group (SonotaCo Network Japan).
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Meteor

Bright flash, mysterious boom caught on home surveillance camera in New Jersey

Alexis Tarrazi
Patch
Thu, 02 Nov 2017 18:56 UTC
Flash, mystery boom in NJ
© YouTube/Alex Tarrazi
A home video captured a bright flash followed by a loud boom heard across the township Wednesday night. What do you think it was?

A Bridgewater resident's home video surveillance captured a bright flash followed by a loud boom heard across the township Wednesday night.

The video was taken from a home on Poplar Street in the Bradley Gardens section of the township by Philip Vicari.

"Take notice to the flash of light," Vicari told Patch. "That wasn't my camera and my flood light was off."


Comment: According to Meteorites Australia, sounds associated with meteorite falls (as reported by observers) can include crackling sounds like gunshots and cannon-like explosions.

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Fireball 5

Earth-grazing meteor fireball with radio reflections caught over New Mexico

Vincent Perlerin
American Meteor Society
Mon, 30 Oct 2017 16:17 UTC
Earth-grazing meteor over New Mexico
© AMSEarthgrazer Fireball with Radio Reflections – Oct 25 2017 – New Mexico Thomas Ashcraft (Radio – Channel A 76.309 MHz CW – Channel B 54.309 MHz CW).
On October 25th 3:42am MDT (09:42 UT), amateur radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft caught an Earth-grazer Fireball over his personal observatory "Heliotown" in Lamy, New Mexico. Earth-grazing fireballs are bright meteors that enter Earth's atmosphere at a very shallow angle and skim along the top of the atmosphere. Some actually re-enter space.

Ashcraft combines all-sky video camera observations with a forward-scatter radar array that is tuned to the plasma and ionization produced by meteors (Channel A 76.309 MHz CW - Channel B 54.309 MHz CW).

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Question

Massive glowing ball over Siberian sky puzzles locals

Will Stewart & Shivali Best
Daily Mail
Fri, 27 Oct 2017 14:34 UTC
glowing light russia
© Sergey AnisimovThe extraordinary scenes were captured by leading Siberian photographer Sergey Anisimov in the town of Salekhard which straddles the Arctic Circle.
Russia has been hit by a wave of reports of a giant UFO in the sky last night with spectacular pictures of an enormous glowing ball illuminating northern Siberia.

Social media erupted with claims of 'aliens arriving' and locals in far flung parts of the country told of 'shivers down their spines'.

While the source of the light has not been confirmed, some have suggested that it was the trace of four rockets launched by the Russian military that caused this extraordinary phenomenon in the night sky.

A similar light was seen in the skies over Norway in December 2009, which was caused by a failed missile. During that incident, the peculiar spiral shaped light pattern was created from reflection of the sun in the leaking fuel.

Vasily Zubkov posted: 'I went out to smoke a cigarette and thought it was the end of the world.'

The extraordinary scenes were captured by leading Siberian photographer Sergey Anisimov in the town of Salekhard which straddles the Arctic Circle.

'I was taken aback for a few minutes, not understanding what was happening,' he said.
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