© YouTube/Meteors (screen capture)
Fire in the Sky
© Flickr Creative Commons
Residents from across the region recounted seeing a bright meteor in the sky towards the Great Diving Range for a few second before it dipped from sight at about 8pm yesterday.
Eyewitness reports indicated the light in the sky was "low and bright".
It's possible the meteor was a remnant of the Perseid meteor shower, one of the brighter meteor showers of the year, which occurs every year between July 17 and August 24.
The shower tends to peak around August 9-13.
Typical rates are about 80 meteors an hour, but in outburst years, such as last year, the rate can be between 150-200 meteors an hour.
The meteor was seen by residents in Warwick and further afield including Leyburn.
© Via YouTube/lightvalve
© Via YouTube/International Meteor Organization
Named for Florence Nightingale, asteroid 3122 Florence is the biggest near-Earth object to pass this close since this category of objects was discovered over a century ago! It might be visible in binoculars.
The next attraction coming up in our skies after the spectacular total solar eclipse of August 21 might be an asteroid big enough to be seen in small telescopes, and maybe even in binoculars, as a small, very slow-moving "star." Asteroid 1981 ET3 - also known as 3122 Florence - is a huge space rock at least 2.7 miles (4.35 km) in diameter. According to Paul Chodas at the Center for Near Earth Object Studies:
© Stellarium
Asteroid 3122 Florence – named for the founder of modern nursing – on August 27 at 11:50 pm CDT as seen from central U.S. Illustration by Eddie Irizarry using Stellarium.
Asteroid 3122 Florence – named for the founder of modern nursing – on August 27 at 11:50 pm CDT as seen from central U.S. Illustration by Eddie Irizarry using Stellarium.
Florence is the largest asteroid to pass this close to our planet since the first near-Earth asteroid was discovered over a century ago.Asteroid 3122 Florence will safely pass by our planet on September 1, 2017 at over 18 times the Earth-moon distance. The asteroid will not be visible to the unaided eye. It will, however, become visible in small amateur telescopes by late August, in the course of what will become the closest encounter to Earth by this asteroid since 1890.
Jay Sullivent heard a loud bang while he was at home in Appling, and initially thought it was a car crash.
Unable to find a wreckage he took a walk around his lawn before stumbling on a burned circle of grass with smoke rising from it.
The drama happened on July 21.
When he approached, Mr Sullivent discovered the middle was alight, with a pink rock in the middle.
© thewestonmercury.com
People all over the town, and as far out as Kewstoke and Banwell, reported hearing the noise which made some windows shake at around 1.20am on Monday.
Many reported on social media that they had seen a flash of light before hearing the sudden bang.
© YouTube/Newsflare
According to the American Meteor Society, there have been 751 reports of the event so far, primarily from Western Washington, but spreading as far south as Eugene, Oregon, as far north as Enderby, British Columbia and as far east as western Idaho. Newsflare.com posted video of the fireball, which occurred at at 9:54 p.m.
Just one person from Whatcom County reported seeing the event to the AMS - a source identified as "CoryA" from northeast of Bellingham near East Axton Road. According to the report, CoryA said, "I wish I hadn't blinked! Saw it, blinked, gone."
© American Meteor Society (screen capture)
AMS Observers map
AMS Observers map
The phenomenon was visible from Bordeaux to Marseille, reports South West. On Twitter, several Internet users have expressed their awe at observing the green fireball. An accompanying boom sound was also reported by some according to the AMS.
A webcam also captured the meteor fireball over the Massif Central.
© David Sunter
David Sunter was working on a rooftop at Serene Retirement Living, Tweed Heads, on Wednesday when he saw a bright meteor burn through the sky just after sunrise, at about 6am.
Mr Sunter filmed the passage of the fiery tail as it cut through the empty sky beyond Point Danger, NSW.
"I looked out above the awning and I seen this strange light in the sky and I thought it was a flare," Mr Sunter said.
Comment: This video has been uploaded on the American Meteor Society Website. AMS Event: 2563-2017, Report 117061. Location is Marssac-sur-Tarn.