Fire in the Sky
German police today announced that a fire which swept through a cottage near Bonn, in the process injuring a 77-year-old man, was probably caused by a meteor.
According to Reuters, the 10 October incendiary incident in Siegburg gutted the cottage and "badly burned the man's hands and face".
If you live in Western Europe or eastern North America, put a big circle on your calendar around Saturday, Nov. 18. If that night is clear, bundle up warmly and head outside because you may be able to catch a glimpse of an intense, albeit brief display of Leonid meteors.
SKYFri, 20 Oct 2006 12:00 UTC
Los Angeles, CA - The Orionid meteor shower isn't one of the year's richest, but it's pretty. Every year it produces up to 20 "shooting stars" visible per hour before dawn from about October 20th to 24th, given good sky conditions. This year the Moon is new and therefore absent from the early-morning sky.
PHOENIX, AZ -- Residents who saw a ball of fire in the sky late Sunday evening near Saguaro Lake witnessed a giant meteor, officials said.
Phoenix and Scottsdale police and Rural/Metro Fire Department dispatchers received calls from residents reporting a plane going down in "a ball of fire." Another caller reported seeing a meteor.
"It was a large ball of flame," Rural/Metro Fire Department spokeswoman Alison Cooper said. "It was very large. It was seen as far as Washington state."
YAKIMA, Wash. -- Several people reported seeing a meteor streak through the sky Sunday night over Yakima.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike O'Connor said he received about eight calls about it, but no reports of any aircraft in trouble.
A dispatcher with the Yakima County Sheriff's Office said one woman and an area police officer spotted a bright object shooting across the sky.
YAKIMA, Wash. The flurry of calls began around 9 p.m. _ reports of a meteor in the skies over Yakima.Asia (AH-sha) Guerrero called The Associated Press to report what looked like a meteor. She said it seemed to be headed toward the city's Terrace Heights area.
"It looked like a shooting star," she said, but closer. "It absolutely fell to the ground."
Coloured lights spotted in the skies over SA's mid-north last night are believed to be from a bright meteor.
The flare-like object was first spotted by a fisherman near Whyalla.
AARON LEAMAN
NZ TimesThu, 21 Sep 2006 12:00 UTC
A bright yellow ball was seen streaking across the Hamilton sky about 6.15pm yesterday, leaving a whispy black line in its wake.
Times reporter Aaron Leaman saw the object and thought it was a meteor.
A meteorite is believed to have burned up over Canterbury today before slamming into the ground in a field.
A loud boom heard throughout the region was most likely to be from a meteorite, up to the size of a medicine ball, Stardome Observatory in Auckland says.
The loud boom was heard over Canterbury, with sightings as far afield as Hanmer Springs in North Canterbury, and Hinds in Mid-Canterbury.
Observatory spokesman Andrew Buckingham told NZPA: "We're still finding out what's going on".
Initial reports had come through the police communications system, with follow ups from eyewitness accounts.
"It sounds like a large meteor coming down... soccer ball size upwards," Mr Buckingham said.
BBCTue, 12 Sep 2006 12:00 UTC
A meteor shower sparked fears a large aircraft was crashing into the sea off the Hebrides.