Fire in the SkyS


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Bright meteor fireball on Nov.11 over Jaén, Spain - 3rd for the month in the region

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This bright meteor event was spotted over southern Spain on 11 Nov. 2018 at 2:08 local time (1:08 universal time). It was generated by a rock from an asteroid that hit the atmosphere at about 72,000 km/h. The meteor overflew the province of Jaén.

It began at an altitude of about 90 km and ended at a height of around 42 km.

The event was recorded in the framework of the SMART project (University of Huelva) from the meteor-observing stations located at La Hita (Toledo), Calar Alto (Almeria), La Sagra (Granada) and Sevilla.


Comment: For details of the 2 other records, see: Meteor fireball over the south of Spain brighter than the full moon

Bright meteor fireball shoots across the sky of Andalusia, Spain - Second for the region within 28 hours


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Video taken of meteor fireball near Lexington, Kentucky

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Dust associated with Comet Encke hits the Earth's atmosphere at 65,000 mph creating the Taurid meteor shower. Video of fireball near Lexington, KY taken Thursday, November 8th.

The Taurids are actually two separate showers, with a Southern and a Northern component. The Southern Taurids originated from Comet Encke and are active from September 10th to November 20th. They are known for being rich with fireballs. By the way, a fireball is just another word for a meteor brighter than the planet Venus. Despite the fact that we are past peak, Ron Malinowski saw this a couple hours ago looking north from Lexington, KY...



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Loud, building-rattling boom sounds off over Tillamook, Oregon

Loud boom in OR
© iStock
It rattled windows, shook buildings and sounded like a thunder clap out the front door.

At about 10 a.m. Monday, a sonic boom struck Tillamook - the result of an aircraft breaking the sound barrier.

"911 had numerous calls about it," Tillamook County Emergency Management Director Gordon McCraw said. "One dispatcher said someone called wanting to report an explosion."

Prior to the knowledge that a sonic boom ripped across the Tillamook sky, McCraw heard and read comments that placed the blame on an earthquake and people curious if a vehicle had hit their building.

"A majority of the time, a loud boom is an aircraft," he said, "And you can assume it's a sonic boom and not an explosion."

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Bright meteor fireball shoots across the sky of Andalusia, Spain - Second for the region within 28 hours

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The fragment extinguished around 63 kilometers above the municipality of Pueblo Blanco in Almeria

This is the moment a comet fragment turned into a fireball over Andalucia.

A piece of the Encke comet entered Earth's atmosphere at more than 100,000km/hr.

According to the Astrohita Foundation, the fireball was visible from 400km away and was detected by observatories in Granada and Sevilla.


Comment: The night prior to this event another unusually luminous fireball also fell over the region, see: Meteor fireball over the south of Spain brighter than the full moon

The first occurred on the 3rd of November and the second on the 4th (see time stamp on the video above).


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Meteor fireball over the south of Spain brighter than the full moon

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This stunning North Taurid meteor event was spotted over the south of Spain on 3 Nov. 2017 at 0:46 local time (23:46 universal time on 2 Nov.). It was brighter than the full Moon.

It was produced by a fragment from Comet Encke that hit the atmosphere at about 110,000 km/h.

The event overflew the Mediterranean Sea and the province of Almeria. It began at an altitude of about 122 km and ended at a height of around 63 km.

The meteor was recorded in the framework of the SMART project (University of Huelva) from the meteor-observing stations located at La Hita (Toledo), Sierra Nevada (Granada), La Sagra (Granada) and Sevilla.


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Fiery meteor fireball blazing across Alabama & Arkansas caught on video

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© Holger John/Global Look Press
With Halloween festivities been and gone, Mother Nature had a spooky and jaw-dropping show up her sleeve in the form of a fiery meteor blazing a trail across the sky near a US airport.

The fiery space rock, part of the annual Taurid meteor shower, was spotted in several locations above Alabama and Arkansas on Friday night. One video shows the speeding meteor falling from the sky near a US National Weather Service station at Shelby County Airport.

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Meteor fireball streaks across Halloween sky in Alabama

A fireball streaked across the night sky above North Alabama
© NASAA fireball streaked across the night sky above North Alabama on Wednesday, Halloween night.
Halloween 2018 came complete with a short celestial show.

A meteor streaked across the sky Wednesday around 7:21 p.m. Dr. Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office in Huntsville told WHNT the meteor wasn't a Taurid Fireball - something that would be more common this time of year. It was instead a small piece of a comet.

"Found your meteor in 3 of our cameras at 7:21:57 PM - uncommon slow mover (37,000 mph) seen through clouds, traveling almost due north right up the Alabama/Mississippi state line," Cooke told WHNT."Nice flares indicating multiple fragmentations. The meteor burned up about 43 miles above the Mississippi town of Mingo, just across the state line. Orbit and brightness indicate that the fireball was caused by a fragment of a comet about 3 inches in diameter."

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Sonic boom in southeastern Massachusetts stemmed from meteor fireball explosion

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Residents of southeastern Massachusetts recently reported an unusual eruption of noise and shaking that rattled several neighborhoods.

Witnesses described a bright flash, loud boom and violent shaking on Oct. 20. Video from a dash cam shows a quick, bright flash in the sky in the New Bedford area around 8:23 p.m.

"I had just gone out to take my dog out," Chris Lawrence of Fairhaven recalled. "I just sat down on the steps and there was a huge flash, then right after that a huge boom. I thought the house next door blew up... it was a huge boom."

After learning of the reports, the Pinpoint Weather Team believes a meteor exploded in the sky, which created a sonic boom that shook the homes and nerves of people throughout Acushnet, Fairhaven and New Bedford.


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Shaking, loud boom heard in central Maryland

Salisbury boom
© Laura Benedict Sileo (file photo)
A loud boom sound and shake was heard in Salisbury and the surrounding areas on Thursday afternoon.

On Oct. 25 around 3:30 p.m., a sound caused a stir with a audible boom and shake.

Residents quickly turned to social media to find out if others had heard the boom. Facebook posts were reported from Salisbury, Seaford, Delmar, Dagsboro, Ocean Pines, Hurlock, Princess Anne, Bishopville, Snow Hill, Vienna and Fruitland.

Patrick Gordon, NAS Patuxent River public affairs officer, said while they do have aircraft flying in the area, none were approved to go supersonic, so they were not the cause.

Keith Koehler, NASA Wallops spokesperson, said he heard nothing in Virginia.

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'Once in a lifetime' moment: Meteor fireball explodes in night sky above castle in England

Fireball exploding over England
© Nick Jackson

This incredible video made from a series of images captures the 'once in a lifetime' moment a meteor explodes and then disintegrates into the night sky above a castle.

The breathtaking scene - recorded very few times on camera - was caught during an Orionid meteor shower on Saturday, October 20.

Orionid meteors occur every Autumn when the Earth is passing through the stream of debris left by Halley's Comet.

Landscape astro-photographer Nick Jackson had gone to Clun Castle, Shrops., to shoot the 13th century edifice in front of the night sky to make a 'star trail'.