Fire in the SkyS


Meteor

Florida, US: Mysterious tremor rattles Flagler County residents


Tampa Bay
Sat, 19 Mar 2011 00:40 UTC
Something shook up Flagler County in northeast Florida on Friday morning, provoking dozens of reports of homes shaking and a sonic-boom-like noise.

Officials had no idea what rattled the region and may never figure out what happened, said Flagler County emergency management chief Troy Harper.

The most likely explanation is military activity offshore, Harper said.

The Navy drops live bombs on a range in the Ocala National Forest and over Lake George, both of which are west of Flagler County, he said.

Don't blame it on the Navy, said Navy spokeswoman Miriam Gallet. "We have nothing going on," she added.
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Meteor

Hyperactive Comet Hartley 2 Is a Spiky Mystery for Astronomers

Stephanie Pappas
LiveScience
Thu, 17 Mar 2011 14:02 UTC
Image
© NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMDA stunning close-up photo of Comet Hartley 2 from the Nov. 4, 2010 flyby performed by NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft. This close-up view of comet Hartley 2 was captured by the spacecraft's Medium-Resolution Instrument.
Houston - Comet Hartley 2, the icy "space drumstick" photographed by NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft last year, is an active object that still perplexes scientists as it travels through the solar system.


Comment: Comets are NOT "dirty snowballs". Perhaps the reason this comet (and all others) still "baffle" space scientists is because they have no clue about the true nature of comets.


Deep Impact visited Hartley 2 in November, revealing what one scientist described as "our favorite little hyperactive small comet."

Hartley 2 rotates around a central axis much as Earth does, scientists have revealed. But the comet also rolls around its long axis like a spinning bowling pin. Make that a spiky bowling pin: The rough edges of Hartley 2's surface are dotted with rocky spires that can reach 230 feet (70 meters) high.
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Meteor

House-Size Asteroid Zooms Close by Earth

Tariq Malik
SPACE.com
Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:46 UTC
Image
© NASA/JPLThis NASA graphic depicts the orbit (blue curve) of asteroid 2011 EB47, which will pass close by Earth within the orbit of the moon on March 16, 2011, one day after it was discovered. The asteroid poses no threat of impacting Earth.
An asteroid the size of a house zoomed by Earth today (March 16), flying within the orbit of the moon just one day after astronomers spotting the space rock in the sky, NASA says.

The small asteroid 2011 EB74 was about 47 feet (14 meters) across and posed no threat of hitting Earth, since it was too small to survive the trip through the planet's atmosphere.

Instead, the asteroid passed our planet at a comfortable distance of about 203,000 miles (326,696 kilometers) when it made its closest approach at 5:49 p.m. EDT (2149 GMT), NASA officials said.

For comparison, the average distance between the Earth and the moon is about 238,000 miles (382,900 km). The flyby of 2011 EB74 is about 0.85 Earth-moon distances, officials said.

Astronomers discovered asteroid 2011 EB74 yesterday (March 15) as part of the ongoing Catalina Sky Survey, a project based at the University of Arizona to seek out previously unknown near-Earth objects like asteroids and comets.
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Question

Texas, US: Widespread haze, smell of smoke in Lubbock a mystery


KCBD
Sun, 13 Mar 2011 17:55 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Despite a widespread haze and a strong smell of smoke across much of Lubbock, the Fire Department said as of 5:00 PM that there was no fire in Lubbock or Lubbock County. There have been reports of control burns in neighboring counties.

At 4:45 PM the smell of smoke was strong near 34th and Milwaukee. Viewers have also contacted KCBD NewsChannel 11 from the 200 block of Milwaukee, the 5300 block of 19th and other areas in Northwest Lubbock.
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Question

Ephrata, Washington, US: Mystery Explosion In Moses Lake


KHQ
Sun, 13 Mar 2011 17:50 UTC
Image
© Unknown
The cause of an explosion heard Saturday evening near Moses Lake remains a mystery.

Citizens called 9-1-1 around 8:30 p.m. Saturday reporting an explosion possibly in the area of the Moses Lake Sand Dunes.
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Meteor

Denmark: Museum is Hunting Fallen Meteorite

Thomas Foght
Jyllands-Posten, Denmark
Fri, 11 Mar 2011 21:45 UTC
Danish Meteor
© Orion PlanetariumHere is the meteor, as it was seen in the sky on Tuesday evening. The Natural History Museum of Denmark would now like to know, where exactly it landed.

This article below which appeared in Danish, is translated by a SOTT forum member.

The Natural History Museum of Denmark is interested in hearing from witnesses who saw the meteor.

Several Danes saw on Tuesday evening, a burning meteor in the sky. It was observed from different locations in Denmark and therefore the hunt is now on for finding the meteorite, which possibly fell around Silkeborg. A meteor becomes a meteorite when it hits the ground.

Via video recordings and eyewitness reports, the Geological Museum department at the Natural History Museum, has worked out that an impact happened Tuesday evening at 8 pm south of Silkeborg.

It is however sparse with information and the geological museum is therefore asking people to report to them if they have seen or heard anything in the evening sky.
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Meteor

UK: Unexplained Flash of Light and Bang Filled the Sky Above Paddock Wood

Sharon Marris
This is Kent
Sat, 12 Mar 2011 13:07 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Bemused residents are scratching their heads after the sound of a huge explosion rocked Paddock Wood - but the cause remains a mystery.

Homeowners in the St Andrews area were gripped by confusion as a flash of light filled the sky accompanied by an ear-splitting bang.

Police, the fire service, the Army, meteorologists and geological experts have all been unable to explain the mysterious event last Wednesday evening.

Warrington Road resident Val Dempsey told the Courier: "It was almost like a bomb had gone off."

Mrs Dempsey, 69, said she had been at home watching TV at about 7pm when she heard the noise.
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Bizarro Earth

Flashback Southeast, US: Mysterious booms rock Cape Fear region


Star-News
Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:00 UTC
Loud booms rocked Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties starting about 6:40 p.m. today.

Callers from Oak Island, Leland and Supply told the Star-News they heard the booms and felt strong vibrations. One man said he thought his beach-front home was collapsing. Another said it shook her whole house.

A meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Wilmington said reports of the booms or vibrations were widespread, coming from Rocky Point in Pender County to Leland in Brunswick County.

The Brunswick County 911 center's switchboard lit up with calls from people reporting explosions or loud booms.

A dispatcher said the center had not confirmed the source of the loud noises.
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Question

Something is shaking the southeast, US: What is causing the 'booms'?

Colin Hackman
WECT
Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:09 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Something is shaking the southeast and has been for quite some time.

Carolina Beach resident Jody Smith was enjoying a Saturday morning with her son Roman when she felt and heard a 'boom.' Her son walked to her and asked, "Mommy, what was that?" Smith didn't know how to respond.

Many people in her neighborhood ran outside in hopes of finding the source of the noise.

"It feels like a Mack truck driving by and it just shakes your whole house," said neighbor Paula Powell.

"It's a shaking feeling," Smith added. "More than thunder and more than a truck going by. Initially that is what it sounded like but it turned into something more than that and I guess more movement. I went to Facebook and I asked, 'Did anyone else just feel a small earthquake?' And within minutes people were posting from all over town saying, 'I felt it in Mayfaire,' 'I felt it in Pine Valley.'"
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Meteor

Illinois, US: UFO over Oswego? You've gotta see it to believe it ...


Beacon News
Fri, 11 Mar 2011 12:54 UTC
Image
Brandon Tudor and his 10-year-old daughter Elizabeth spotted a strange "flaming object" in the evening sky as he was driving along U.S. Route 30 in Oswego on Sunday,March 6, 2011. Tudor took these photos with his camera phone.
Brandon Tudor swears he's not seeing things. And he's got his iPhone and 10-year-old daughter to prove it.

The young Oswego salesman and father of three was dropping Elizabeth off at her mom's house in Lakewood Creek subdivision on Route 30 in Montgomery early last Sunday evening when he spotted it in the western sky.

It appeared to be a ball of fire falling toward earth at a 45-degree angle. Suddenly, he says, the flame extinguished and the trail of smoke changed direction, rising to a 30-degree angle.

Tudor had time to snap four pictures before the mysterious apparition disappeared. Then, out of nowhere, father and daughter saw two jets fly into view and circle the area.

Because he was now driving in the opposite direction, Tudor doesn't know how long the planes were in the sky, but the brief episode was enough to get the juices going.
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