SOTT
SIGNS
OF THE
TIMES
OF THE
TIMES
Welcome to Sott.net
The World for People who Think
Fire in the SkyS
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:
The fireball was probably caused by a small asteroid or comet hitting Jupiter. Apparently, the giant planet swallowed the impactor whole.
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
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.
Meteorites fall in Val D'Orcia (Siena's Hills) Tuscany, Italy
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...
© 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.
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.
File photo
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.
© NASAAstronauts on the International Space Station took this picture of noctilucent clouds near the top of Earth's atmosphere on July 13, 2012.
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.
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
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 it03 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.
Visitors from another galaxy may have visited Herefordshire over the bank holiday weekend - but they didn't hang around long.
A number of readers reported a mysterious explosion of light and sound in various parts of the county on Monday night.
A flash of light moving quickly and a distant explosion were seen and heard following what appears to have been a meteor shower.
"It happened just overhead and only lasted about five seconds," said John Price, who lives near Kingsland .
"It was a blueish-white sphere, about the size of a football, and was quite low in the sky."
John said the boom of light spooked horses in a nearby field before the mysterious sight disappeared in the direction of Leominster .
"It gave off a fierce glow but there was no sound whatsoever. It's something I've never seen before."
But elsewhere in Herefordshire, close to Bromyard , one resident reported hearing a large bang.
A number of readers reported a mysterious explosion of light and sound in various parts of the county on Monday night.
A flash of light moving quickly and a distant explosion were seen and heard following what appears to have been a meteor shower.
"It happened just overhead and only lasted about five seconds," said John Price, who lives near Kingsland .
"It was a blueish-white sphere, about the size of a football, and was quite low in the sky."
John said the boom of light spooked horses in a nearby field before the mysterious sight disappeared in the direction of Leominster .
"It gave off a fierce glow but there was no sound whatsoever. It's something I've never seen before."
But elsewhere in Herefordshire, close to Bromyard , one resident reported hearing a large bang.
See a big, bright, green meteor over Asheville last night? A rare green fireball was spotted over our city on Wednesday night at about 10:48 p.m.
The same fireball meteor was spotted in a five-state area including North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia, with most spottings seemingly clustered around Asheville, Charlotte and Greensboro.
An account from an eyewitness:
The same fireball meteor was spotted in a five-state area including North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia, with most spottings seemingly clustered around Asheville, Charlotte and Greensboro.
An account from an eyewitness:
5 sec south to north blazing white, started out small, like a shooting star, then grew bigger, angled down and turned brilliant green, then broke apart in green bits at the end (trees were blocking my view slightly at the end, this is what appeared to happen) startes out like a shooting star, then increased in brightness and size, dimmed slightly when green at the very end of my view it appeared to break off into several fragments This was A-mazing. It was very bright and terribly beautiful!Details about the meteor here.
A meteor/fireball was spotted over parts of North Carolina around 10 p.m. Wednesday night.
Several FOX8 viewers in Greensboro, Lexington and several other cities reported seeing the fireball shoot across the sky shortly before 10 p.m.
Stuart McDaniel posted a photo of the meteor/fireball on his Facebook page. The photo was taken in Lawndale, which is located in Cleveland County.
McDaniel also posted a short video of the meteor/fireball shooting across the sky.
A website that tracks meteor and fireball sightings reports several people reported the meteor/fireball on Wednesday.
The website lists reports from Lexington, Asheville, Chapel Hill, Weaverville, Boone and Charlotte.
Most people reported seeing a "bright light" or "green flash" across the sky between 9:45 and 10:15 p.m.
Several FOX8 Facebook fans also reported seeing the fireball.
"I thought I saw a very bright light shooting across the sky around 9:55 p.m. I was driving and came up on trees around the same time so wondered," Amber Goforth Blue wrote.
" I was driving through Winston-Salem on Business 40 when i saw it! Beautiful!" wrote Jenn Jones Lewis.
Several FOX8 viewers in Greensboro, Lexington and several other cities reported seeing the fireball shoot across the sky shortly before 10 p.m.
© Stuart McDaniel
Stuart McDaniel posted a photo of the meteor/fireball on his Facebook page. The photo was taken in Lawndale, which is located in Cleveland County.
McDaniel also posted a short video of the meteor/fireball shooting across the sky.
A website that tracks meteor and fireball sightings reports several people reported the meteor/fireball on Wednesday.
The website lists reports from Lexington, Asheville, Chapel Hill, Weaverville, Boone and Charlotte.
Most people reported seeing a "bright light" or "green flash" across the sky between 9:45 and 10:15 p.m.
Several FOX8 Facebook fans also reported seeing the fireball.
"I thought I saw a very bright light shooting across the sky around 9:55 p.m. I was driving and came up on trees around the same time so wondered," Amber Goforth Blue wrote.
" I was driving through Winston-Salem on Business 40 when i saw it! Beautiful!" wrote Jenn Jones Lewis.
Comment: Comparing this image with the image of the impact site, it appears NASA is downplaying the size of whatever hit Jupiter.