Fire in the SkyS


Fireball 2

More incoming: NASA detects three asteroids currently approaching Earth

Carlo Inigo Monzon
International Business Times
Tue, 19 Nov 2019 17:12 UTC
artist meteors earth asteroids
© PixabayRepresentational image of asteroids approaching the earth
NASA's asteroid tracking system is currently monitoring three space rocks that are expected to approach Earth tomorrow, Nov. 20. According to the agency, the biggest asteroid in the group is about half as tall as the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

The first asteroid that will visit Earth's vicinity tomorrow has been identified by NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) as 2019 UK6. CNEOS indicated that this asteroid is currently flying towards Earth at an average speed of almost 28,000 kilometers per hour. With an estimated diameter of 110 meters, 2019 UK6 is the biggest asteroid in the group.

Trailing behind 2019 UK6 is an asteroid known as 2019 WF. According to CNEOS, this asteroid is the fastest in the group. The agency's data indicates that 2019 WF currently flying at a velocity of about 42,000 kilometers per hour. CNEOS noted that this asteroid spans about 24 meters wide.
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Telescope

They just keep coming! NASA tracking THREE asteroids headed this way, two spotted just 2 days ago


RT
Tue, 19 Nov 2019 16:47 UTC
Asteroids nearing Earth
© Pixabay/Thomas Breher
NASA is currently tracking three near-Earth objects (NEOs) due to fly past the Earth on November 20. Worryingly, two of the three were only spotted this past weekend, once again raising tensions over planetary defense.

The first of Wednesday's cosmic flybys and the largest, measuring 157.5ft to 360.8ft (48 to 110 meters) across, will be asteroid 2019 UK6, which will speed past at approximately 6.20am GMT (1.20am EDT). It is 2019 UK6 we had most prior warning about, as it was first observed on October 24.

NEO 2019 UK6 is an Amor asteroid, which that goes around the Sun and the Earth, occasionally, but very rarely, crossing Earth's path. Apollo asteroids, on the other hand, intersect with Earth's orbit as the planet travels around the Sun.

Comment: See also: Something Wicked This Way Comes

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Fireball 5

Kilkenny, Ireland: Early risers spot giant meteor fireball in the frosty sky

Colin Bartley
Kilkenny Now
Mon, 18 Nov 2019 14:44 UTC
Fireball (stock)
© TravelLife/ShutterstockStock image
A giant fireball was spotted streaking over Kilkenny's frosty sky early this morning.

Some reports are saying it was a meteorite, while some claim it landed in neighbouring Carlow.

At 5.20am this morning, the flashing fireball was seen by those up early for work, or those out for an early morning run. The huge fireball illuminated the frosty and foggy sky as it shot over.

A spokesperson for Astronomy Ireland confirmed the sighting but are now seeking the public's help for more information about the sighting.
Another fireball this morning over Ireland, about 5.20am. Did any of you see it?
Fireballs occur when tiny meteor enter and then burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. The last reported meteor to land in Carlow was found in Leighlinbridge in 1999.
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Comet 2

Leonid meteor shower light up night sky with spectacular shooting stars


RT
Sun, 17 Nov 2019 15:16 UTC
Leonid meteor shower
© Reuters / Ali jareji
One of the most famous annual meteor displays, the Leonid shower, is peaking this weekend and even though this year's show could be a downer, stargazers will still be treated to occasional spectacular fireballs and shooting stars.

The Leonid is expected to be best visible in the early hours of the morning on Monday, between 2am and 4am.
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Fireball 4

Asteroid the size of the Great Pyramid could hit Earth in 2022


Sputnik News
Sat, 16 Nov 2019 22:45 UTC
Asteroid
© Creative Commons
Scientists from the American space agency claim that asteroids the size of a football field collide with our planet every 2000 years, with another giant rock now heading towards the Earth.

NASA just announced when a giant asteroid, known as JF1, would hit Earth if it continues on its current trajectory - and it's not too far from now.

The American space agency predicted that a 128-meter-long space rock - the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt - could collide with our planet on 6 May 2022, potentially causing devastating consequences by wiping out an entire city just in seconds and causing millions of deaths.

As JF1 is believed to strike the Earth with a power of 230 kilotons of TNT - 15 times higher than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima that was equivalent in energy to 15 kilotons of TNT.
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Comet 2

Amateur Crimean astronomer discovers new comet in solar system: C2019V1 (Borisov)


RT
Thu, 14 Nov 2019 17:08 UTC
New Comet Borisov
© NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLAGennady Borisov has been contacted by the International Astronomical Union about his latest discovery.
Not content with leading NASA to detect water from an alien star system on board an interstellar visitor, Crimean amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov has discovered another comet.

The new comet, traveling at roughly 30km per second in the patch of sky between the Lynx and Cancer constellations, marks the ninth stellar object Borisov has discovered. Unlike his previously discovered comet, dubbed 2I/Borisov, this one is a resident of our solar system.

"I discovered a new comet in early November. I have just received a letter from the Minor Planet Center of the International Astronomical Union. This is not an interstellar comet. It's an ordinary one, which is a solar system object. It got the name C2019V1 (Borisov). This is a confirmed discovery," Borisov told TASS news agency.
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Fireball

Spectacular meteor fireball caught on camera above St. Louis, Missouri - Event seen from across US Midwest


Sputnik
Tue, 12 Nov 2019 20:03 UTC
Fireball over St.Louis
© Screenshot/AMS American Meteor SocietyEarthcam footage captures the moment in which a fireball streaks across the Missouri nighttime sky near St. Louis' Gateway Arch.
Hundreds of local residents across the US state of Missouri were given front row tickets to a meteor show late Monday after a flaming rock streaked across the nighttime sky.

Local news station KMOV reported that the jaw-dropping meteor was spotted "from Columbia to St. Charles County and into St. Louis County and south St. Louis City," before disappearing into the night over Wellsville.

Reports of a fireball - a bright, slow-moving meteor - began to emerge at roughly 8:45 p.m. local time, with some residents reporting that the flashing rock was accompanied by the sound of a loud boom.

Comment: No, no, no. You CANNOT predict these things.

These are NOT the teensy-weensy flits you see during meteor showers. Those are 'shooting stars'.

These other things are LARGE CHUNCKS OF SPACE ROCK EXPLODING IN THE ATMOSPHERE.

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Fireball 2

Meteor fireball reported over France; seen in Switzerland, Germany


Sott.net
Wed, 06 Nov 2019 17:22 UTC
Fireball over Switzerland
© YouTube/AMS/Alexandre M.
On November 6, 2019, the American Meteor Society (AMS) received 14 reports of a fireball over southeastern France. The meteor was also seen in Switzerland and Germany.
Fireball over Switzerland
© AMS
AMS member Alexandre M. caught the event on his dashcam as it flew over Lausanne, Switzerland:

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Fireball

Fireball lights up the skies over St. Louis during Northern Taurid meteor shower

Tom McKay
Gizmodo
Tue, 12 Nov 2019 13:21 UTC
fireball st louis
Make a wish: Cameras in St. Louis, Missouri caught what appeared to be a meteor falling from the skies on Monday night, KSDL and KMOV reported.

Both stations reported that local residents saw a flash of light and loud noise at about 8:55 p.m. local time (9:55 p.m. ET). Twitter user David Vergel posted footage from an EarthCam aimed at the city's iconic Gateway Arch of the object streaking through the atmosphere, while other locals appear to have picked up the event on home security cameras. The Northern Taurid meteor shower, which is known for brighter-than-usual meteors called fireballs, was expected to peak on Monday night into the early hours of Tuesday with St. Louis just on the eastern edge of the highest visibility region on the map, KSDK reported.
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Fireball 2

They just keep coming: Skyscraper-sized asteroid due to pass Earth this week


RT
Mon, 11 Nov 2019 17:52 UTC
Asteroid approaching Earth
© urikyo33 / Pixabay
An asteroid measuring almost the height of New York's Rockefeller Center is due to make a flyby of Earth this week. The good news, however, is that thankfully the rock poses no immediate threat to life on our planet.

Asteroid 2019 UN12 is estimated to measure between 110m-250m (360-820.21ft), or roughly five Statues of Liberty standing on top of each other, and will whizz past the Earth on Wednesday at a whopping 64,467mph.

Thankfully, it will speed by at a relatively safe distance of 892,294 miles (1,436,008km), farther than many of the more recent close asteroid flybys in recent weeks.

Comment: Notice the shift in the article to how useful near earth objects could be. Why isn't more attention being paid to the sheer number of NEOs, along with what should be the alarming increase in the number of "moons" being discovered around Jupiter and Saturn. The outer planets, especially the gas giants are capable of vacuuming up space rocks, but not all of them. We appear to be entering a region of space with a much higher density of cosmic debris. Dangerous times.

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