Fire in the Sky
Here's the latest from Perth Australia:
Starting around 9. the Count on 2 newsroom started getting calls into our newsroom from viewers, from Johns Island, up to Isle of Palms and McClellanville and all the way over to Nesmith.
South Carolina typically sees 10-15 earthquakes a year. But, we don't feel most of them.
"I was in the kitchen when I heard the sound of glass breaking," Dee Riddle, whose house is located off of West Miller Street, said. "There was also a thump and a shake."
No major meteor showers were expected in the northern hemisphere on Sunday night, said Jim Lattis, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison astronomy department's Space Place. But he said it was possible that a minor shower may have been what prompted calls to authorities.
California Highway Patrol officers were among those who told officials they saw an object sizzle across the sky for four minutes over east San Diego County.
Described by several pilots as a "ball of fire, orange in color and scattered," the phenomenon was said to have appeared over the Indian state of Gujarat and has left aircraft officials perplexed at its possible cause, the Sunday Express said.
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©Ray Palmer |
Space Junk? |
Recorded Tuesday at about 2 am, the thirty minute long color film exposure also captured a bright but mysterious object that moved slowly across the sky for over an hour. Widely seen, the object began as a small point and expanded as it tracked toward the North (left), resulting in a comet-like appearance in this picture. What was it? Reports are now identifying the mystery glow with a plume from the explosion of a malfunctioned Russian rocket stage partially filled with fuel. The rocket stage was marooned in Earth orbit after a failed communication satellite launch almost a year ago on February 28, 2006. A substantial amount of debris from the breakup can be tracked.
Perth Observatory astronomer Ralph Martin said reports of a big meteor began flooding into the observatory from all over the metropolitan area about 10.15pm.
"It was reportedly travelling from west to east and was breaking up as it went," Mr Martin said.
People as far south as Dunsborough and as far east as Chidlow reported seeing a flaming ball course through the heavens from about 9.30pm.
Observatory astronomer Andrew Williams said some witnesses reported seeing the meteor break up