Fire in the SkyS


Meteor

Meteorite falls in northern Latvia, no one injured

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© Unknown
No one was injured after a meteorite fell near a small town in northern Latvia on Sunday, local Latvian media reported.

According to media reports, the meteorite fell near a residential house on the outskirts of Mazsalaca town in the Valmiera district of Latvia, leaving a crater of some 20 meters (66 feet) in diameter and 10 meters (33 feet) deep.

A spokesperson for the Latvian State Fire and Rescue Service said that rescuers and soldiers immediately cordoned off the territory, however, it is still not clear whether it was an asteroid or a space satellite.

"The territory has been immediately cordoned off as we still do not know what fell down from the sky. According to preliminary information, it was a meteorite. However, it is possible that it was a [space] satellite or its fragment. A radioactive contamination is also possible," she said.

A witness, who saw the object falling from the sky and leaving a burning trace behind, said it was making a noise similar to the one of an aircraft flying at a low altitude.

Comment: Update: This incident appears to have been staged

'Meteorite' that landed in Latvia is a hoax, experts say


Meteor

Hoax? Video footage of blazing 'meteorite' in Latvia


A fiery object struck farmland creating a large crater near a small town in northern Latvia.

No-one was injured in the incident and geologists are now studying the object, which may be a meteorite.

Locals claimed the object fell near a farmhouse on the outskirts of Mazsalaca town in the district of Valmiera last night.

It created a crater which measured 50 feet across and 16 feet deep.

A witness who claimed to have seen the incident described the 'meteorite' as making a noise similar to the one of an aircraft flying at a low altitude.

ldis Nulle, a scientist at the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center, said there was smoke coming out of the crater when he arrived at the crash site late Sunday in the Mazsalaca region near the Estonian border.

'My first impression is that, yes, it was a meteorite,' he said. 'All the evidence suggests this when compared to pictures of real meteorite craters.'

Meteor

Did a meteor make this crater in Latvia?

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© Unknown
Investigators Say Radiation Levels Normal

Scientists were investigating Monday whether a large crater found in a meadow in northern Latvia had been created by meteorite. One expert said it was likely a hoax.

Experts in the Baltic country rushed to the site after reports that a metorite-like object had crashed late Sunday in the Mazsalaca region near the Estonian border.

Uldis Nulle, a scientist at the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center, said his first impression after observing the site late Sunday was that the 27-foot (nine-meter) wide and nine foot (three-meter) deep crater had been caused by a meteorite. He said there was smoke coming out of the hole when he arrived.

Meteor

Hundreds See 'Exploding Fireball' in Sky

Washington - Reports indicate that hundreds of people in the Netherlands and Germany have reported seeing a huge exploding fireball in the sky on October 13.

According to a report in National Geographic News, amateur photographer Robert Mikaelyan captured the phenomenon on camera.

Mikaelyan managed to capture several shots of the fireball as it swung low over the northern city of Groningen, Netherlands, and began to break apart into smaller chunks.

"I suddenly saw a light in the sky coming fast and quickly got the pictures taken," Mikaelyan said.

Comment: Every 20-25 years? Somebody's not been paying attention. These are from the past 3 weeks:

October 9th: Caught on camera: Meteorite streaks across New Mexico sky

October 5th: Video: Fireball lights up sky over Iceland

Septmber 28th: Cosmic shock and awe: Fireball explodes over Argentina

September 25th: Spectacular Fireball filmed over Canada


Meteor

Canada, Ontario: Small meteorite broke windshield of SUV

Scientists say a golf ball-sized rock that smashed through the windshield of an SUV is a meteorite, possibly from a spectacular fireball that streaked across the sky above Hamilton three weeks ago.

University of Western Ontario researchers confirmed the rock was a meteorite. It will be unveiled today at a media conference.

The fireball was captured on video Sept. 25 by a network of cameras administered by Western that regularly watch the skies at night. One of the cameras is located at McMaster University.

Meteor

Video: Grimsby, Ontario meteor 25 September


Comment: You can read a report of this sighting here


Meteor

US: Meteorite streaks across New Mexico sky

Scientists think a fireball that flew over New Mexico may have been close enough to actually hit the ground.

A Santa Fe astronomer was able to catch the fiery streak on video. Thomas Ashcraft says the fireball didn't disintegrate when it hit the atmosphere. It may have landed somewhere near Taos.

Meteor

Canada, Ontario: Grimsby meteorite found

The Grimsby space rock has been found.

A fragment of meteorite the size of a golf ball smashed in the windshield of a Grimsby family's sport utility vehicle on Sept. 25, according to a media release from the University of Western Ontario.

Meteor

Astronomers digging for meteors in Grimsby, Western Ontario

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© University of Western OntarioA composite photograph of the meteor that streaked across southern Ontario Sept. 25. It is believed meteorites landed in the Grimsby area.
Space rocks formed when the solar system was created billions of years ago are believed to have fallen to Earth near Grimsby in a fiery light show two weeks ago.

Astronomers will be digging through farmers' fields Thursday and Friday on the hunt for hunks of a meteor that blazed across the skies of southern Ontario Sept. 25 shortly after 9 p.m.

The beachball-sized meteor was first picked up by cameras operated by the University of Western Ontario's physics and astronomy department 100 kilometres above Guelph as the fireball streaked southeastward at a speed of about 75,000 km/h.

Astronomers at the university have traced the meteor's path and believe chunks of it may have landed above the escarpment within a 10-km radius of Grimsby.

"We're pretty certain something came down," said Phil McCausland, a postdoctoral fellow with the university's astronomy department.

Meteor

Meteor explodes over Groningen, Netherlands: Fireball seen from Belgium and Germany

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© NU.nl/Robert Mikaelyan
Hundreds of people report seeing a spectacular fireball or meteorite over the Netherlands in Tuesday's clear evening skies.

The police emergency number, Dutch coastguard and KNMI weather bureau report dozens of phone calls about the meteorite, which was seen in Germany and Belgium.

'I was standing in front of my window when there was a bright flash of light and a white fireball in the sky fell apart into three smaller ones,' eyewitness Erik Alberts from Zuidbroek in Groningen province told Nos tv. 'Like fireworks. A few seconds later, perhaps half a minute, there was a low rumble and the windows shook.'