Authorities in Texas are baffled after being flooded with reports of burning debris falling from the sky.
Fire in the Sky
It streaked across the Central Texas sky Sunday morning in a bright yellow flash with a boom, leaving a trail of smoke. The FAA thought it might be from Russia.
The media, bloggers and the Twitterverse followed the feds' lead.
But they were all wrong.
It turned out it wasn't debris from Tuesday's collision of two satellites over Russia after all, according to the Domestic Events Network of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Federal authorities now believe the source was not manmade.
The media, bloggers and the Twitterverse followed the feds' lead.
But they were all wrong.
It turned out it wasn't debris from Tuesday's collision of two satellites over Russia after all, according to the Domestic Events Network of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Federal authorities now believe the source was not manmade.
27 Newsweek started receiving phone calls tonight telling us a loud boom, or series of booms were heard this evening in Southern Kentucky.
So we called emergency officals, to find out what is going on.
Brian Reams of the Laurel county EMS tells us they've had calls from Jackson to London, about a loud boom.
He says there are no reports of any injuries or damage.
So we called emergency officals, to find out what is going on.
Brian Reams of the Laurel county EMS tells us they've had calls from Jackson to London, about a loud boom.
He says there are no reports of any injuries or damage.
A former Clutha district man living in bushfire-ravaged Victoria watched in horror on Saturday night as a "fireball" loomed on the horizon.
As Scott McHaffie's Healesville home of four years appeared to be in line with a rapidly approaching fire front he watched from his roof as surrounding mountains erupted in flame. Only good luck and the whim of the weather saved his town from direct attack.
The former Popotunoa, near Clinton, man said it had been expected the small town only 60 kilometres east of Melbourne's central business district, in the heart of the winemaking Yarra Valley region, would come under direct attack from the Victoria fires and it was placed on an urgent threat level with residents warned to watch out for ember attacks.
As Scott McHaffie's Healesville home of four years appeared to be in line with a rapidly approaching fire front he watched from his roof as surrounding mountains erupted in flame. Only good luck and the whim of the weather saved his town from direct attack.
The former Popotunoa, near Clinton, man said it had been expected the small town only 60 kilometres east of Melbourne's central business district, in the heart of the winemaking Yarra Valley region, would come under direct attack from the Victoria fires and it was placed on an urgent threat level with residents warned to watch out for ember attacks.
© J. Perez Vallejo/SPMN)
A close-up image of the Bejar bolide, photographed from Torrelodones, Madrid, Spain.
A close-up image of the Bejar bolide, photographed from Torrelodones, Madrid, Spain.
Last July, people in Spain, Portugal and France watched the brilliant fireball produced by a boulder crashing down through the Earth's atmosphere. In a paper to be published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, astronomers Josep M. Trigo-Rodríguez (Institute of Space Sciences, CSIC-IEEC, Spain), José M. Madiedo (University of Huelva-CIECEM, Spain) and Iwan P. Williams (Queen Mary, University of London) present dramatic images of this event.
The scientists go on to explain how the boulder may originate from a comet which broke up nearly 90 years ago and suggest the tantalising possibility that chunks of the boulder (and hence pieces of the comet) are waiting to be found on the ground.
Astronomers have analyzed the cometary fireball that blazed across the sky over Europe last year and concluded it was a dense object, about a meter (3.2 feet) across and with a mass of nearly two tons - large enough that some fragments probably survived intact and fell to the ground as meteorites.
Last July, people in Spain, Portugal and France watched the brilliant fireball produced by a boulder crashing down through the Earth's atmosphere. In a paper to be published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, astronomer Josep M. Trigo-Rodríguez, of the Institute of Space Sciences in Spain, and his co-authors present dramatic images of the event. The scientists also explain how the boulder may originate from a comet which broke up nearly 90 years ago, and suggest that chunks of the boulder (and hence pieces of the comet) are waiting to be found on the ground.
"If we are right, then by monitoring future encounters with other clouds of cometary debris, we have the chance to recover meteorites from specific comets and analyse them in a lab," Dr Trigo-Rodríguez said. "Handling pieces of comet would fulfil the long-held ambitions of scientists - it would effectively give us a look inside some of the most enigmatic objects in the Solar System."
© J. Perez Vallejo/SPMN
The Bejar bolide photographed from Torrelodones, Madrid, Spain. The incoming fireball is the streak to the right of the floodlit house. The bright light at the top is the overexposed Moon.
The Bejar bolide photographed from Torrelodones, Madrid, Spain. The incoming fireball is the streak to the right of the floodlit house. The bright light at the top is the overexposed Moon.
"If we are right, then by monitoring future encounters with other clouds of cometary debris, we have the chance to recover meteorites from specific comets and analyse them in a lab," Dr Trigo-Rodríguez said. "Handling pieces of comet would fulfil the long-held ambitions of scientists - it would effectively give us a look inside some of the most enigmatic objects in the Solar System."
The recent bout of cold weather and a wave of training exercises have contributed to an upswing in sonic booms, according to officials from nearby air force bases.
The noises frequently occur during routine aircraft testing at sites like Edwards Air Force Base, 50 miles west of Barstow.
When colder weather hits, sonic booms can travel well beyond their normal 70 to 100 mile range, especially during the months from November to April, according to John Haire, director of operations and media relations chief at the base.
The sound travels better when temperatures drop, said Haire, adding that cloud cover also causes the sonic booms to reflect off both the ground and the cloud ceiling, bouncing the sound waves farther.
The noises frequently occur during routine aircraft testing at sites like Edwards Air Force Base, 50 miles west of Barstow.
When colder weather hits, sonic booms can travel well beyond their normal 70 to 100 mile range, especially during the months from November to April, according to John Haire, director of operations and media relations chief at the base.
The sound travels better when temperatures drop, said Haire, adding that cloud cover also causes the sonic booms to reflect off both the ground and the cloud ceiling, bouncing the sound waves farther.
Posted: February 5, 2009
Date: February 3, 2009
Time: 8:52 p.m.
Number of witnesses: 2
Number of Objects: 2
Shape of Objects: Round without tail.
Full Description of Event/Sighting: Two red/orange fireballs without tail moving from SSW to NNE. Very bright light, like a rounded candle flame that just got lit. Moving with a continuous speed, horizontally in the night sky. At one time, the second object seemed to stand still for a couple of seconds, moving a bit from left to right and back. And then continued it's way afterwards to disappear in the far sky.
Date: February 3, 2009
Time: 8:52 p.m.
Number of witnesses: 2
Number of Objects: 2
Shape of Objects: Round without tail.
Full Description of Event/Sighting: Two red/orange fireballs without tail moving from SSW to NNE. Very bright light, like a rounded candle flame that just got lit. Moving with a continuous speed, horizontally in the night sky. At one time, the second object seemed to stand still for a couple of seconds, moving a bit from left to right and back. And then continued it's way afterwards to disappear in the far sky.
Guanaba Gorge
A spokesman for the seismological office in Brisbane said their instruments had not recorded any ground shockwaves, despite dozens of residents reporting hearing a loud noise and vibrations.
Marco Island, Florida - Is it a bomb? Is it a plane? Or is it a sonic boom? Loud bangs have Islanders looking to the sky with wonder.
Comment: How about a meteorite exploding in the upper atmosphere?
Occasional loud booms had Marco Islanders and others in Southern Collier County wondering what the noise was Wednesday and Thursday.
Marco Island city officials received several calls about the banging noises, said Public Information Coordinator Lisa Douglass.
Police Chief Thom Carr said officers heard the noise too, but they weren't sure what they were.
Comment: How about a meteorite exploding in the upper atmosphere?
Occasional loud booms had Marco Islanders and others in Southern Collier County wondering what the noise was Wednesday and Thursday.
Marco Island city officials received several calls about the banging noises, said Public Information Coordinator Lisa Douglass.
Police Chief Thom Carr said officers heard the noise too, but they weren't sure what they were.
