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"Bright Green Flash" over Wyoming was an exploding meteor, says astronomy buff


County 10
Mon, 05 Oct 2015 19:57 UTC
Image

The bright green flash on the right is a possible meteor headed into the atmosphere.
County10.com reported last week on what the flash of light across Wyoming skies on the night of Saturday Sept. 26, might have been. Now, a longtime Cody area astronomy buff has provided further context/answers:
"The observed flash was in fact a Bolide meteor, not an Iridium flash or reentering manmade space junk. I saw it plainly from my campsite 28 miles SSE of Tensleep / ~38 miles west of Kaycee on the upper Nowood River," said Dewey Vanderhoff in comments made to Reboot.

"The meteor occurred at 8h:26m :40s PM- MDT. It appeared just above the 'handle' of the Big Dipper between the 1st and 2nd principal stars, and descended rapidly straight down and a little obliquely to the right ( north) . It first appeared 32 ° high in the WNW at an azimuth 309° ( 39° north of due west) . The meteor lasted maybe 3-4 seconds , brightening the entire way. In the last third of the trajectory the meteor became an incandescent green , and exploded just above my relative horizon. There was no sound of concussion in the following 5 minutes or so, as sometimes can be heard."
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Meteor

Man spots possible meteors in Southland, New Zealand

Brittany Picket and Phil McCarthy
The Southland Times
Sun, 04 Oct 2015 14:09 UTC
Image
© Southland Times
2012 file photo of meteor spotted in Southland.
A Southland man has reported bright orange meteor-like activity followed by a "boom" and a bright glow coming from some distance away.

Dave Diack, from Oreti Plains, said he was outside at about 10.20pm when he spotted two objects in the sky - a short time apart.

It was a really clear night and he saw a bright orange object tracking from the south-west, he said.

"It wasn't a high one falling. It was more travelling horizontally on a slightly downward path, then it disappeared to the north."

About 10-15 seconds later he saw a second orange object in the sky, this time coming from the east. He said he thought the fact the objects came from different directions was odd. Then he said he "sort of heard a boom" in the distance and saw a bright glow emanating from the distance. The glow quickly dimmed.

Diack said it was hard to judge how far away it was, but he thought it might have come from the Dipton area.

"I've seen a few meteors over the years but I haven't seen one for quite some time. Last night's was a little bit different. We're fairly isolated and we haven't got any properties near us so when the sky's clear you can see quite a bit."

Southland Astronomical Society president Phil Burt said it was possible to sometimes see dozens of meteors in a night - and southern skies would be busy during the next two months.

The annual Orionid meteor shower will be visible from October 2 to November 7.

Comment: Celestial Intentions: Comets and the Horns of Moses

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Meteor

Meteor or 'space junk' spotted over York, UK


York Press
Sun, 27 Sep 2015 19:07 UTC
Image
© Donna Chamberlain
Early risers in York yesterday morning could have spotted an intriguing display in the skies over the city.

Heworth woman Donna Chamberlain was up with the lark on Friday when she saw what she thought could be a meteor or "space junk" burning up as it entered the Earth's atmosphere.

The firey dot appeared at 6.45am and moved slowly through the sky before it disappeared again at 6.52am, but not before Donna had chance to capture the "magical" display on camera.

Gabrielle Potter spotted the same thing as she walked from Holgate to the station at around 7.20am. She said: "I watched it and then it just disappeared - interesting to see! I took a photo as I've never seen anything like it before."

But a space expert has been in touch to explain that rather than a meteor or falling piece of space debris, what the two woman saw was more likely a trick of the early morning light.

York man Chris Bergin who edits NASA SpaceFlight.com said the pictures look just like the image created when contrails from an aircraft are caught in low angled light - like sunrise.

He said: "You can also see the trail is splitting in two, not quite parallel-wise - consistent with a two engine plane.
Image
© Donna Chamberlain
"Meteors enter with incredible speed and such events only last a matter of seconds due to their velocity and disintegration - the latter making them visible." "Most space hardware (junk or otherwise) is tracked by Space Command, protecting other space hardware - such as the International Space Station - from conjunction events and the event in the photo matches no tracking.

Comment: Not a likely conclusion, actually: Space Junk Rising Exponentially (and No, It's Not Man-Made)

See also: The Hazard to Civilization from Fireballs and Comets

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Fireball

Fireball brighter than crescent moon flies over Alabama

Kristine M. Rainey
NASA
Thu, 17 Sep 2015 15:08 UTC
Image
On September 16, at 8:22:25 PM local time, NASA meteor cameras in north Georgia and western North Carolina detected a bright fireball over middle Alabama. First seen at an altitude of 45 miles above Paul M. Grist State Park, near Selma, Alabama, the 6 inch diameter chunk of asteroid moved east at a speed of 38,000 miles per hour before burning up some 28 miles above northern Elmore County. At its most intense, the meteor was even brighter than a crescent Moon.


Image
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Fireball 3

Meteor fireball lights up Quezon, Philippines


Coconuts Manila
Fri, 18 Sep 2015 19:23 UTC
Meteor Over Quezon
© YouTube Screen Capture
Joje Vitug, a resident of Barangay Pasong Tamo in Quezon City, uploaded a video of a meteor lighting up the night skies.

"I was about to reach my house last night when I saw a meteor that seemed to explode in mid air and illuminated the sky. I paused before going to my garage because I was not sure of what I saw," Vitug said.

He was lucky that his vehicle's dashboard camera was able to capture the scene, which he considers a "once-in-a-lifetime event."

Vitug sent his video to ABS-CBN News on Thu, Sep 17.

According to state weather bureau PAGASA, the appearance of the meteor is normal.
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Question

Mysterious 'boom' stuns residents of a town in Gloucester, UK

Andrew Merrell
Gloucester Citizen
Thu, 10 Sep 2015 05:28 UTC
Kingsholm, Gloucester

A mysterious explosion shook Kingsholm, Gloucester
on September 9 2015.
A super loud bang brought residents in Malvern Road in Gloucester from their homes last night (September 9) leaving families stunned.

The deep boom was significant enough to prise Kingsholm people from their sofas during peak television viewing time.

Residents gingerly opened front doors to peer out into the street - expecting to see a trail of destruction, bomb crater, tail of an aircraft, damage to vehicles, the front of a neighbour's house missing or the remnants and shrapnel of someone's boiler.

What greeted them came as another shock - the same peaceful scene of parked cars, twitching curtains and hedgehogs scuttling for cover.

Comment: Such loud booms with no identifiable source could in all likelihood be overhead explosions caused by meteor fireballs, or other seismic interactions brought about from our changing cosmic climate. See also:

Sott Exclusive: Meteor fireball explodes over eastern Turkey, sending shower of meteorites to the ground

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Fireball 2

Meteor seen entering Oman atmosphere; explosions heard

Tariq Al Haremi
Times of Oman
Thu, 10 Sep 2015 16:58 UTC
Image
© Shutterstock
Meteor like unidentified object did enter the Sultanate's atmosphere on Wednesday night, however it is not clear whether it landed in Oman or not, according to Saleh Al Shidhani from the Oman Astronomical Society, Locals in Wilayat of Yanqul in Al Dhahira Governorate reported that they witnessed Meteor like object and also heard the crash.

Speaking to Times of Oman, Saleh Al Shidhani from the Oman Astronomical Society, said, "Based on the information we have gathered currently, we can't confirm whether it was a meteorite or not."

"We are also not sure whether it landed in Sultanate, but it definitely passed through the atmosphere. But we don't know where it landed exactly," he further added, saying that the object passed through Al Dhahira Governorate and probably continued to the United Arab Emirates.

"The villagers had conflicting stories where some of them said they had heard the explosion when others denied it. We will send a team to that region and question the witnesses and investigate the matter," said Al Shidhani.

Comment: See also this other recent report: Sott Exclusive: Meteor fireball explodes over eastern Turkey, sending shower of meteorites to the ground

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Fireball 2

Meteor filmed by Washington Monument camera


InsideNova
Wed, 09 Sep 2015 20:06 UTC
Image
© NASA Meteor Watch Facebook
A bright meteor was seen shooting through the sky Tuesday night and a camera located on the Washington Monument captured its movement.
A bright fireball streaking across the sky Tuesday night was captured on camera from the Washington Monument.

According to NASA's Meteor Watch, the fireball was seen in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and West Virginia around 9:27 p.m. It moved east to west and appeared to be orange, according to witness reports on the American Meteor Society's website.

An "Earthcam" on the Washington Monument captured the meteor's race through the sky.

According to the American Meteor Society, fireballs are very bright meteors, about as bright as Venus in the morning and evening skies.

About 10 to 15 meteorites fall to Earth each day, but sightings are rare since streaking fireballs often fall over the ocean, or during daylight hours when they can't be seen.
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Fireball 2

Photographer captures fireball against the Northern Lights in Finland

Levi Winchester
Daily Express, UK
Fri, 04 Sep 2015 20:46 UTC
Image
© MARKUS KIILI
Photographer Markus Kiili was lucky enough to capture this stunning photo
The incredible images show a bright white line hurtling through the green and blue sky, in a rare moment which was visible for just a few seconds.

Photographer Markus Kiili was fortunate enough to not only witness the beautiful event - but also capture it on TWO cameras.

The 40-year-old cameraman was shooting a time-lapse video in Lapland, Finland, with two cameras last night when he witnessed the stunning sky.
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Fireball

Massive meteor fireball witnessed in Thailand, explosions heard


RT
Mon, 07 Sep 2015 06:20 UTC
Fireball over Thailand
© Porjai Jaturongkhakun / YouTube
A massive fireball, believed to be a meteorite, has fallen on Thailand. Awestruck commuters witnessed the spectacle, describing a green and orange glow, as it took a nosedive toward Earth.

The event took place during the morning rush hour at about 8:45am local time in Bangkok, although the meteor did not make an audible sound as it struck the ground.

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