Fire in the SkyS


Fireball 2

Fireball captured on camera over Tenerife, Canary Islands


spanishnewstoday.com
Thu, 21 May 2015 16:09 UTC
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Meteorite captured on camera by Slovakian observatory in the Canaries
A spectacular image was captured on camera by the AMOS project near Los Cristianos in Tenerife at 23.17 on Tuesday when a meteor illuminated the sky as it hurtled towards Earth.

The meteor, which was first spotted when it was still 83 kilometres away from the planet, disintegrated 25.2 kilometres from the Earth's surface, and was snapped by the cameras of the AMOS project in the observatory of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias Teide y Roque de los Muchachos.

The AMOS (All-Sky Meteor Orbit System) project has been up and running for only two months, and every night scans the sky in search of meteors using two detectors located 140 kilometres apart in Tenerife and La Palma. These devices can calculate the exact orbits and trajectories of the bodies they detect.

The technology was developed by the Astronomical and Geophysical Observatory of the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics at the Comenius University in Slovakia, and won a gold medal at the INVENTO 2013 exhibition. Its intended use is for improving meteor and meteorite detection and prediction systems, and in future it is planned to install similar equipment in Chile in order to allow the southern skies to be monitored as well.
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Satellite

Best of the Web: Near miss with gigantic asteroid coming this Thursday

Eric Worrall
Watts Up With That
Mon, 11 May 2015 21:21 UTC
Image
© wattsupwiththat.com
The Express reports that a colossal one mile wide asteroid will brush past the Earth this Thursday, with a closest approach of 3 million kilometres - far too close for comfort, with a rock that big.

According to The Express;
The gigantic missile thought to measure almost a mile across will brush closer than previous monsters which have sparked a global panic.

Worried astronomers warned 1999 FN53, which is an eighth of the size of Mount Everest, will skim the Earth in THREE DAYS.

A collision would be nothing short of catastrophic triggering mass destruction, earthquakes and global extinction.

The monster is more than TEN TIMES bigger than other meteorites currently visible on NASA's Near Earth Object radar.

It is also double the size of the gargantuan 2014-YB35 which had astronomers around the world watching the skies in March.

Experts warn a collision would trigger an explosion similar to millions of megatons of TNT and would be capable of killing 1.5 billion people.
On this occasion a collision seems unlikely - but it doesn't take much of an orbital perturbation to put an Earth grazer onto a collision course.

Comment: Forget About Global Warming: We're One Step From Extinction!

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Meteor

Sonic boom panics citizens of Kohima, India


Easternmirrornagaland.com
Tue, 05 May 2015 19:29 UTC
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© Oasistourindia.comKohima, India
With the current law and order in the state in shambles, what with frequent bomb blasts and firing in public places leading to murder and damage of properties, a sudden loud 'boom' at noon on Tuesday created panic among denizens of the state's capital town.

The boom was loud and clear, for a few seconds past mid-day following which people were alarmed and calls to one another began. The commotion led to creation of more confusion with some people saying it was a bomb blast outside the Secretariat, while others said it happened at the High School junction. There still were some more who said another blast had occurred at Lerie colony. The colony was the scene of a string of explosions earlier.

However, police officials confirmed that the sound was merely a sonic boom and not a bomb explosion, which was even heard in Wokha and Dimapur district.

It may be mentioned here that a sonic boom is the sound associated with the shock waves created by an object traveling through the air faster than the speed of sound - in this case planes particularly jet fighters. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding much like an explosion. The crack of a supersonic bullet passing overhead is a miniature example of a sonic boom.
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Fireball

Fireball seen in Eatontown, New Jersey

Shannon Mullen
Asbury Park Press
Sat, 02 May 2015 14:25 UTC
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© Associated PressSightings of a meteor like this one, photographed over the Arizona desert in 2001, were reported at the Jersey Shore and along the Northeastern U.S. Friday night, May 1.
There were numerous reports of a meteor streaking across the night sky late Friday.

Dora Marcouiller said she saw it while she was driving in Eatontown about 9:40 p.m.

"It flew southeast/northwest. It was as clear as day and crossed the top of the tree line. I saw the ball illuminating the sky with the tail of burning fire behind. It was huge and very distinct," the Eatontown resident said in an email to the Asbury Park Press.

Most meteors, or shooting stars, are visible as brief streaks of light. Marcouiller's description appears to match that of a "fireball," an unusually large and bright meteor. To be considered a fireball, a meteor must be at least as bright as Venus, according to an article from Geology.com.

Meteor-related websites reported sightings from Quebec, Canada to Maryland Friday night.
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Fireball

Fireball spotted over Peterborough, Canada


The Peterborough Examiner
Wed, 29 Apr 2015 15:51 UTC
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A meteor. (File photo)
A fireball was seen over Peterborough's north end early Wednesday morning.

The meteor was bright light green in colour and split into two parts as it fell through the atmosphere, and could be seen for just a few seconds, around 1:58 a.m. Wednesday.

But unlike the loud daytime meteor heard nearly a year ago in Peterborough, there was no sound associated with Wednesday's fireball.

The fireball was also spotted at that time from Montreal, according to the American Meteor Society.

Meteor sightings were also reported to the American Meteor Society at 1:51 a.m. Wednesday from Niagara Falls, N.Y. and at 2:03 a.m. Wednesday from Ontario.

The Eta Aquariids is the current major meteor shower. It lasts until May 19 with a peak of May 6 and 7.

The April Rho Cygnids and the H Virginids showers were also active on Wednesday, according to the American Meteor Society.
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Fireball

Fireball lights up the sky in East Lancashire, UK

Michael Morrison
Lancashire Telegraph
Mon, 27 Apr 2015 15:15 UTC
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© Steve Hooks Steve Hooks caught the 'fireball' on camera
The East Lancashire sky lit up briefly under the glare of a huge falling fireball last night — sparking fears of a 'plane crash or the end of the world'!

The large meteor was spotted by several residents at around 10.10pm as it fell over the north west on what was a clear, crisp night.

Denise Kennedy-Scott was in her garden close to Blackburn Rugby Club when she spotted the fireball.

She said: "I was looking across the field and looked up to see what looked like a white shooting star to start with, but as it got closer — and it was moving slowly — it got bigger and bigger.

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Fireball 3

Meteor lights up sky over Kerala, India


english.manoramaonline.com
Sat, 25 Apr 2015 09:44 UTC
Fireball
© english.manoramaonline.comSky lights up again in Trippunithura, meteor suspected.
Trippunithura: Fireballs were seen in the evening sky here on Friday, reminding one of a similar incident some time ago. During heavy showers in the evening, the fireball was seen around 9.30 pm.

The fireball was associated with bright light and it seemed to move from the east to the west at a low altitude. The phenomenon lasted only for a few seconds. Unlike in the earlier instance, the fire ball was not accompanied by any sound.

Scientific observer Dr Rajagopal Kammath opined that this could have been a meteor and that there is no room for concern. He said that this is the time of the year when meteors called Lyrids drop to the surface of the earth. They travel from east to west and up to 20 have been cited in an hour at various places. He said that they would be more visible after midnight.
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Fireball 4

UK photographer snaps meteor leaving a 'Z' in the sky

Michael Zhang
Petapixel.com
Fri, 24 Apr 2015 02:59 UTC
Meteor
© petapixel.comAnimated GIF here.
A couple of nights ago, Hawick, UK-based photographer Sam Cornwell spent some time in the great outdoors taking pictures of the April Lyrids meteor shower that happens from April 16 to April 26 of each year. Just as he was about to call it quits and return home without a keeper, Cornwell captured the above photo of a huge "fireball" streaking across the night sky.

After returning home and taking a closer look at the burst of frames he shot, Cornwell noticed that the meteor had left a "wicked smoke trail" in the sky in the shape of an expanding (then disappearing) 'Z.' He strung the frames together into an animated GIF.

"Looks a bit like the mark of Zorro dontchafink?," Cornwell writes.
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Question

Mystery boom heard in Northampton, UK

Nick Beiber
northamptonnews-hp.co.uk
Thu, 23 Apr 2015 10:45 UTC
Image
© Becky Burrows
A mysterious 'loud bang' was heard in Northampton last night.

Residents were left baffled after hearing the noise at around 10pm.

Some people took to Twitter to report what they heard, with one person suggesting it sounded like 'artillery fire'.

The Northants H&P has contacted Northamptonshire Police and Northants Fire and Rescue Service about the noise, and both say they have not received any calls about it.

The Ministry of Defence has also completely ruled out the possibility of it being caused by one of their planes.

Frencesca Sharpe (@Sylindria) said: "Just heard a heck of a 'boom' in Northampton and it didn't sound good #Northampton #noise."

Gary Painting (@Sketchys1) said: "Just heard a loud explosion... something like distant artillery fire! Anyone else hear it?"
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Fireball

Strange roar heard Sunday night across southern Wisconsin


GazetteXtra
Sun, 19 Apr 2015 05:02 UTC
Janesville
Image
© Mikesastrophotos.com
— A roaring sound caught the attention of people across a widespread region of southern Wisconsin around 8:15 p.m. Sunday.

The sound seemed louder and longer than an airline plane would make, and it was heard in Beloit, Milton, Evansville, Albany, Monticello and Monroe as well as Janesville, according to Facebook comments.

One commenter from Brodhead said it made her house vibrate.

It was raining but not windy in Janesville at the time.

One commenter suggested the sound was from a meteor, and indeed, roaring sounds have been attributed to meteors in the past, news reports indicate.

The Rock County Sheriff's Office and Rock County 911 center said it had received no calls about the phenomenon or any damage.

A 911 official checked with the National Weather Service in Sullivan, where officials had no radar contacts or weather events that might explain the noise.
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