Fire in the Sky
A fast moving meteor lit up the night skies over most of Utah just after midnight Wednesday. Moments later, the phones lit up at KSL as people across the state called to tell us what they saw and ask what it was.
Utahns are still talking Wednesday about what scientists are calling a "remarkable midnight fireball." The source of all the excitement was basically a rock, falling from space. When a meteor enters the atmosphere, it gives off a lot of heat and light.
Folks at the Clark Planetarium say this rock was big--between the size of a microwave and washer-dryer unit.
As forecasters predicted, there was a surge of Leonid meteors during the late hours of Nov. 17th. Preliminary counts from the International Meteor Organization exceed 120 meteors per hour.
A remarkable midnight fireball that "turned night into day" over parts of the western United States last night was not a Leonid. Infrasound measurements suggest a sporadic asteroid not associated with the Leonid debris stream. The space rock exploded in the atmosphere with an energy equivalent to 0.5 - 1 kilotons of TNT.
Approximately 6 hours later, observers in Utah and Colorado witnessed a twisting iridescent-blue cloud in the dawn sky.
© Jeff Kendrick
Image taken: Nov. 18, 2009
Location: Looking South East of SLC, UT just before dawn 11/18/2009
Details: First appeared as a ring when the eastern sky was dark. Disappeared completely as the sun came up
Image taken: Nov. 18, 2009
Location: Looking South East of SLC, UT just before dawn 11/18/2009
Details: First appeared as a ring when the eastern sky was dark. Disappeared completely as the sun came up
Boise - A number of people called our newsroom, e-mailed us, and were talking about it on Twitter.
A meteor streaked across the night sky-- lighting it up as if it were daytime.
A meteor streaked across the night sky-- lighting it up as if it were daytime.
People from all over the Mountain West reported a "bright light" or "meteor streak" around midnight Wednesday morning.
Reports are coming in from Eastern and Southern Idaho, all throughout Utah and even Las Vegas.
Several viewers called into the Local News 8 newsroom reporting the bright light which lasted for just a few seconds.
Some have reported it as a "ball of light" and others called to say it looked more like a "green streak."
Media outlets in Salt Lake City report that some even felt a "slight rumble" or "sonic boom."
Reports are coming in from Eastern and Southern Idaho, all throughout Utah and even Las Vegas.
Several viewers called into the Local News 8 newsroom reporting the bright light which lasted for just a few seconds.
Some have reported it as a "ball of light" and others called to say it looked more like a "green streak."
Media outlets in Salt Lake City report that some even felt a "slight rumble" or "sonic boom."
A large ball of fire streaking across the night time skies just after midnight had many Utahn's wondering what they saw early Wednesday morning.
Dozens of calls came streaming into the ABC 4 newsroom with people wondering if they saw a shooting star, others wondered if it was the end of the world, military testing, or even a UFO.
Dozens of calls came streaming into the ABC 4 newsroom with people wondering if they saw a shooting star, others wondered if it was the end of the world, military testing, or even a UFO.
© Gabriel Perez
A father and son have an extraterrestrial explanation for the strange rock that recently landed in their backyard in southwest Kansas. They are convinced it's a meteorite.
Chandler Harp, 10, was playing in the backyard of his Liberal home when he heard what sounded like an explosion about 15 feet from where he was standing. He looked over to see a plume of dirt and debris shoot 5 feet high.
At the bottom of a foot-deep hole, he found a 2-inch rock and showed it to his dad, Lee.
Chandler Harp, 10, was playing in the backyard of his Liberal home when he heard what sounded like an explosion about 15 feet from where he was standing. He looked over to see a plume of dirt and debris shoot 5 feet high.
At the bottom of a foot-deep hole, he found a 2-inch rock and showed it to his dad, Lee.
© jennyfire130
A brilliant fireball was seen over California during the early evening of November 7 at around 5:10 pm. Quite a few reports have been posted in the comments sections on this blog.
A comment posting by Rich gives a rather detailed observation of the event:
A comment posting by Rich gives a rather detailed observation of the event:
"11/07/2009 at approximately 1700hrs we were driving south form Santa Rosa on Hwy 12 and were passing through Sonoma when we noticed a large brilliant white fireball in a SSW direction. It first caught our attention at about 20 to 25deg off the horizon. Our visual on it only lasted only about 3-4 seconds then just before passing the hills in the distance it seemed to go out. There was no associated noise or sign of impact. It was just gone. There was a smoke or debris trail that we could see after the object was gone that was visible for perhaps a minute or so then it was dispersed by the wind."
People throughout British Columbia were treated to a spectacular light show Saturday after what's believed to be a meteor lit up the sky.
Stephen Dalley and his wife were driving north of Comox, on Vancouver Island, at about 7 p.m. PT.
"We were shocked ... I mean, it wasn't what you'd expect, but it was bright white, with red and green and some blue colours, with a bit of a trail behind it and it was a large fireball," he said.
"[It was] approximately what the size of the moon would have been if we were looking at the moon."
Stephen Dalley and his wife were driving north of Comox, on Vancouver Island, at about 7 p.m. PT.
"We were shocked ... I mean, it wasn't what you'd expect, but it was bright white, with red and green and some blue colours, with a bit of a trail behind it and it was a large fireball," he said.
"[It was] approximately what the size of the moon would have been if we were looking at the moon."
Watch the Sott web exclusive video below
Comment: Another comment on that blog reads: