Fire in the SkyS


Umbrella

Fireball Over New Mexico

On May 12th, a brilliant green fireball (probably meteoritic) flew over eastern New Mexico and lit up the ground like a full Moon. Using a Sandia Labs all-sky camera and a 60-80 MHz radio receiver, Thomas Ashcraft not only photographed the fireball but also recorded distant radio stations echoing eerily from the fireball's ionized tail. Click here and enjoy the show.

Binoculars

New York State: NEADS says loud noise could have been a sonic boom

We've had lots of phone calls into the newsroom today about a loud booming sound this afternoon. Some viewers even felt their homes shaking.

North East Air Defense Sector officials say there was plenty of air traffic today, and the sound could have been a sonic boom. But that is not confirmed.

Question

Flashback Mysterious booms rattle the coastline of Israel

Concerned citizens reported to Ynet about loud sounds of explosions in the area of Central District. Some feared it was an earthquake, although Geophysical Institute refuted this possibility. Later this day IDF responded that it is probably a sonic boom.

Several loud explosions were heard at the afternoon in Central District area. IDF responded that apparently those were sonic booms, and the matter is under investigation. They added that during their activity, IAF makes all the possible effort to avoid interfering with citizens' quality of life.

Not long after 16:00, Ynet was flooded with "red email" reports from concerned readers. Many readers from the Central District reported extremely loud noises and strong tremors.

Comment: According to one of our Israeli readers, those booms were heard and felt along the coastline (from Ashkelon - South of the country, to Hedera - North of the country) and not only in the Central District. And although several reported sighting of two jet fighters above the sea, it still doesn't explain the intensity and the distance those booms could be heard.




Alarm Clock

Fireball in the sky: Image captured over Canada?

So I was out trying to image another Sunset when out of the blue a fireball appeared. To give you some idea of how rare these fireballs are, a trained observer, such as moi, can expect to be treated to one, once every 200 observing hours, factor in that it was a daytime fireball, more rare, also factor in the fact it was close to the Sun, more rare again and....catch breath... the fact that I had a focused camera ready to go, and that I would actually capture an image just after the break up with an image of the fragments, the chances of this happening, well, it boggles the mind just thinking of it, well it boggles my mind, mind you I'm easily boggled.

Bulb

Update: Mystery flashes and booms in Maryland Solved

Mystery solved. Police say they've made an arrest in the case of the loud bang and bright flash of light disturbing a neighborhood in Pikesville.

Derek Valcourt explains he never thought he'd be reporting that the mystery is solved a day after it first aired on Eyewitness News.

Police say the cause of the disturbance was a frustrated neighbor. But even more surprising is what police found inside his home.

The man behind this mystery is now behind bars. Police blame 59-year-old Fred Mackler for the flashes of bright light and loud bangs that bothered neighbors in Pikesville for years.

Question

Mystery flashes and booms in Maryland

Officers Vickie Warehime and J. Posluszny Jr. have solved a lot of mysteries, but this one is over their heads--literally.

In fact, it may be about 30 to 40 feet in the air.

Comment: Click here to watch the footage featured in a local news broadcast.


Question

Cyprus: The mystery of the sonic boom

The British Bases yesterday maintained that none of their aircraft had caused buildings to shake in Paphos on Wednesday.

According to the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation, "aircraft taking part in a British military exercise went supersonic, upsetting local residents, who feared for their safety."

Question

Tennessee: Did a meteorite make mincemeat of North Side abodes? Theories abound

A natural gas explosion? That's disappointing to all of us who had been pulling for the meteor.

We still don't know with certainty what set off the explosion at a North Side home last week. At a news conference yesterday, Detective Michael Burns of the city's arson unit said an illegal drug lab has been ruled out, which leaves investigators to believe natural gas was the cause.

Telescope

Kokomo - Jets put boom speculation to rest, states National Guard

Jets put boom speculation to rest

The loud boom heard throughout Howard and Tipton counties late Wednesday was caused by F-16 fighter jets conducting training in the area, the Indiana National Guard reported Thursday.

Telescope

Argentina: Another meteor sighted near Parana

The Asociación Entrerriana de Astronomía (AEA) [Entre Ríos Astronomy Society, Argentina] has announced that on Wednesday 16th April 2008, at approximately 19:30 hours, was observed a highly luminous object that had all the characteristics of a bolide. This object was sighted from Paraná, Oro Verde and San Benito. According to witnesses, the bolide was intensely bright, with colours fluctuating between green, yellow and red.