Fire in the SkyS


Meteor

"Near Earth Objects have been whizzing past us lately, undetected until they have been practically on top of us" - 2 NEO's sweep past Earth Sept. 13-14


CBS News / SPACE.com
Thu, 13 Sep 2012 13:32 UTC
Image
Asteroid 2012 QG42
A newfound asteroid that may be the size of three football fields will whiz by Earth on Thursday (Sept. 13), and you can watch the close encounter live online. Asteroid 2012 QG42 is between 625 feet to 1,400 feet wide (190 to 430 meters) and was first spotted by scientists last month. Researchers say the space rock has no chance of hitting Earth this week when it makes its closest approach on Thursday.

The asteroid will pass by at a safe distance of about 7.5 times the Earth-moon distance. The moon is, on average, about 238,000 miles from Earth. Asteroid 2012 QG42 is, however, listed as a "potentially hazardous asteroid" by the Minor Planet Center at Cambridge, Mass., meaning it may pose a threat in the future.

At least two online observatories are tracking the asteroid's pass by Earth. The Virtual Telescope Project run by astronomer Gianluca Masi in Italy began providing a live video stream today at 6 p.m. EDT (22:00 UTC). You can see that video stream here.

2 NEO's flying past Earth Sept. 13-14, 2012
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Meteor

Mysterious Light In Phoenix Skies - Meteor or Missile Launch?


ABC15.com
Thu, 13 Sep 2012 09:29 UTC
A mysterious formation in the Valley sky that shined bright Thursday morning had hundreds of viewers emailing and calling ABC15. The formation was seen shining bright around 5:30 a.m. and eventually disappeared.
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© Steve Miley"This was taken at around 5:40 am this morning. It started at the top right and then fell to the left. Maybe a meteor?"
SEE MORE PHOTOS ON ABC15.COM
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Meteor

Meteorite crashes into house in Honduras

Lito Zipitría
elreporte.com
Fri, 31 Aug 2012 15:53 UTC

Translation by lunarmeteoritehunters.blogspot.com

We analyzed a bolide from space that was embedded in a house in Comayagua. Although there was damage where the stone entered, it did not hit anyone.

The missile crashed into a family home in Donaire Valley and has attracted interest from experts in the department of astronomy at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH).

The fragment, based on a preliminary analysis, is considered to be a meteorite.

Comment: Just ten days earlier, another meteorite appears to have hit the ground in Honduras: 20th August 2012, Honduras Investigates Alleged Meteorite Crash

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Meteor

Updated Images: Jupiter Swallows an Asteroid - or a Comet?


SpaceWeather.com
Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:14 UTC
Around the world, amateur astronomers have been scanning the cloudtops of Jupiter for signs of debris from an explosion witnessed by Dan Peterson and George Hall on Sept. 10th. So far the cloud layer is blank. "Several observers have now obtained excellent images on the second and third rotations after the fireball, and there is nothing new nor distinctive at the impact site," reports John H. Rogers, director of the Jupiter Section of the British Astronomical Association:
Image
The fireball was probably caused by a small asteroid or comet hitting Jupiter. Apparently, the giant planet swallowed the impactor whole.

Comment: Comparing this image with the image of the impact site, it appears NASA is downplaying the size of whatever hit Jupiter.
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Image
© George Hall


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Meteor

Jupiter Hit by Giant Asteroid Yesterday

Eddie Wrenn
Mail Online
Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:00 UTC
Image
What a moment: Jupiter was struck by an asteroid yesterday, as confirmed by this image and a separate eye-witness
  • Jupiter was hit during the day yesterday - but it apparently went unobserved from Earth
  • ...except for one astronomer, Dan Petersen, who saw the flash with his own eyes
  • When Petersen reported the sighting on a web forum, amateur astronomer George Hall checked his overnight footage
This is the moment Jupiter was struck by a mighty meteorite yesterday - and our only record of it is this image, captured by a lone webcam chugging away in the early hours of the morning.

As the people of Earth carried out their lives unawares, it seems our gas giant neighbour took a forceful blow to the side at about 11.35am GMT yesterday.

Amateur astronomer George Hall, from Dallas, captured the flash on video at 5:35am CET - but he only went to check his footage after hearing online that another astronomer, watching the planet with his own eyes, saw the huge explosion bloom out of Jupiter in the blink of an eye.

Now astronomers are waiting for the planet to swing back round - to see if Jupiter has been scarred by the impact.

If it has, a black smudge is likely to appear on the 'clouds' of the planet, a distinctive mark to go alongside the Red Spot - Jupiter's giant storm.
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Meteor

Meteorites impact ground in Tuscany, April 1 2012

PigrecoProgetti
You Tube
Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:40 UTC
Meteorite Valli Senesi Tuscany
Meteorites fall in Val D'Orcia (Siena's Hills) Tuscany, Italy
At 9pm on Sunday evening, April 1 2012, a meteorite stuck in Val D'Orcia near the departments of Radicofani and Sarteano, with coordinates: N 42 ° 56'17 "- E 11 ° 47'34". The fireball left a visible streak in the sky and two small-sized meterorites impacted the Senesi hills, causing a patchy fire most likely due to a big heat wave. There's a second site but we are not yet able to reach it.

With the intervention of the NBCR Fire Brigade, the Operational Nuclear Biological Chemical and "Radfiottivo" of the Department of Siena, the point of impact was identified, the fire was extinguished and soon samples of suspected carbonaceous Chondrite were found. Investigators conducted analyses to determine the type of material.

No radioactivity was registered at the point of impact, an area ​​about 60cm in diameter and up to half a meter deep. A thermal camera registered 756 degrees celsius even though the impact happened more than 18 hours earlier.

Dozens of glowing points of several thousand degrees were detected on the thermal camera's monitor.

Thanks to Simone Seddio of Astrofili ANTARES of Legnano.

Comment: According to official science, meteorites don't start fires because they are always stone cold when they reach the ground. So much for official science...

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Meteor

Flash spotted on Jupiter: Is it a hit?

Alan Boyle
NBC News Cosmic Log
Tue, 11 Sep 2012 22:00 UTC
Image
© George HallThe flash on Jupiter is visible as a bright spot on the left edge of the planet's disk, as seen in this video image.
Astronomers are abuzz over sightings of a flash on Jupiter - which suggests that the giant planet has taken another bullet for the solar system team.

Today's report follows similar sightings of impacts in 2009 and 2010. As in those earlier cases, the call has gone out to look for any visible scars on Jupiter's cloud tops. That would be a sure sign that an asteroid or comet was drawn in by the planet's gravitational pull, potentially saving us from a cosmic collision threat.

"It's kind of a scary proposition to see how often Jupiter gets hit," said George Hall, an amateur astronomer from Dallas who captured the flash on video this morning.

Hall didn't actually see the hit when it happened. Early this morning, he brought out his 12-inch Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with the Point Grey Flea3 video camera attached, just to capture imagery for a composite picture of Jupiter. "Jupiter happens to be ideally positioned at about 6 o'clock in the morning," he explained. "It's right overhead."

Comment: As such events are becoming more common, please have a look at some of the research, sections and articles we continue to provide under Fire in the Sky or read Meteorites, Asteroids, and Comets: Damages, Disasters, Injuries, Deaths, and Very Close Calls or our continued Sky Watch Fireballs and Meteorites.

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Meteor

'Horrendous' Celestial Fireball Blazes Across Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Patrick O'Sullivan
Hawkes Bay Today
Wed, 05 Sep 2012 06:04 UTC
Image
File photo
Another witness to the "fireball with a tail" that appeared in Hastings skies on Tuesday last week has come forward, saying he's surprised no other witnesses have come forward.

Ross, who would not give his surname because "people will just think I'm mad" said he was sitting in his spa pool when he saw a huge orange/red fireball going toward Te Mata Peak.

"It was the most amazing thing I have seen in my 61 years," he said.

"I thought, shit. I yelled out to my wife but she just thought I was just ranting and raving as usual.

"I came racing out and said something is going to be on the news - something like that is going to cause a tidal wave or something. I rang up all my mates and they said, you've been taking drugs.
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Meteor

Increased meteor smoke: Noctilucent clouds brightening and spreading south


space.com
Tue, 04 Sep 2012 00:00 UTC
noctilucent clouds
© NASAAstronauts on the International Space Station took this picture of noctilucent clouds near the top of Earth's atmosphere on July 13, 2012.

Rare and mysterious clouds that are so bright they can be seen at night have mystified people since they were first observed more than a century ago, but scientists have now discovered a key cosmic ingredient for these night-shining clouds: "smoke" from meteors as they burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.

Blue-white clouds that eerily glow in the twilight sky are called noctilucent clouds, or NLCs. They typically form about 50 to 53 miles (80 and 85 kilometers) above ground in the atmosphere, at altitudes so high that they reflect light even after the sun has slipped below the horizon.

In a new study, scientists found that noctilucent clouds have an extraterrestrial link.

Comment: Indeed they are, they're telling us that something wicked this way comes...

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Meteor

Large bright meteor reported over Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma September 3, 2012


lunarmeteoritehunters.blogspot.com
Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:47 UTC
Several (?) meteor events reported September 3rd over Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

From the times and reported directions of travel it is hard to make heads or tails of these events; perhaps more sighting reports will help clear up the picture.

Initial Reports

03 SEP 2012 Mike Denton, TX USA 2130 CDT
4 sec S-N: Turquoise, large, bright Very bright, slow. Possibly 2 parts. Brightest, largest I have seen.
03 SEP 2012 Jane dunbar Bartlesville, OK. USA 21:15:00
3 to5 seconds? W-E Yellow no sound Bright like a star Had a tail Yellow core with illumination around it
03 SEP 2012 David Harrison, AR 21:10, CDT
2-5 sec Spotted to SSE, traveling left to right, very steep angle. May have impacted near Ponca, AR Red, turning to orange,with lots of sparks, then turned green. about same as moon large shower of sparks One of the most beautiful I've ever seen, never seen green before. Also the first time I saw one I beleived might impact.

Comment: Wildlife officials investigating unexplained dove deaths in West Texas

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