Fire in the SkyS


Meteor

US: Ball of Fire Turns Out to Be Meteor Near Oklahoma

Amanda Terrebonne
Todays THV
Tue, 11 Jan 2011 22:00 UTC
Fireball
© Todays THV

Poteau -- Quite a stir across the state tonight, lots of folks saw a big ball of fire streaking across the sky.

The Sebastian County Sheriff's Office says it was a meteor and likely hit near Poteau Mountain, Oklahoma.

We contacted amateur astronomer Steven Meeks who writes an astronomy blog on todaysthv.com, he says it was likely a meteor and since some people saw it burn a bit greenish -- it probably contained copper.

He also says it was probably no bigger than a pebble. According to affiliate KFSM, the meteor was also sighted in Greenwood, Jonesboro, Jackson, Miss., Biloxi, Miss., and the Florida Panhandle.
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Meteor

Greece: Meteorite Streaks Past Moon


Greek News
Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:47 UTC
A meteor streaks by the moon in this video from a Greek News Channel on Jan 1st 2011.

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Meteor

Moon Hit by Meteor Caught on Tape


eBaum's World
Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:23 UTC
China lunar probe caught this impact on the moon.



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Comet or Asteroid? Big Space Rock Has Identity Crisis


Yahoo News / Space.com
Sat, 08 Jan 2011 01:51 UTC
596 Scheila
© Kevin HeiderA picture showing the faint tail of the celestial body 596 Scheila, which was once thought to be an asteroid. Researchers now think it may be a dormant comet coming back to life

A huge asteroid discovered more than 100 years ago may not be an asteroid at all, but a dormant comet that is just now coming back to life, according to new observations.

The object, known as 596 Scheila, is about 70 miles (113 kilometers) wide and has a faint, wispy tail that suggests it may actually be a comet, researchers said. If that's the case, then 596 Scheila would be only the sixth known comet to reside in the main asteroid belt, a vast region of space rocks that lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

The asteroid-turned-comet discovery was somewhat serendipitous. On the night of Dec. 11, astronomer Steve Larson, a scientist with the Catalina Sky Survey in Tucson, Ariz., was searching for potentially hazardous asteroids when he came across an object with a bright core and a faint tail.
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Meteor

UFO or Meteor Live on BBC Newscast


Youtube
Tue, 04 Jan 2011 12:47 UTC
During Stargazing Live, on the BBC; a white light was seen appearing from a cloud and disappearing behind another. It's path did not look as though it was falling to earth! What do you think?

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Meteor

US: Maryland Astrophotographer Captures Quadrantid Meteor

Frank Roylance
The Baltimore Sun
Mon, 03 Jan 2011 13:31 UTC
Mike Hankey, an amateur astrophotographer in Freeland, in north-central Maryland, set up his camera Tuesday morning to capture images of some of the Quadrantid meteors.

He only managed to snag one, but it was good one. He stitched a series of stills into an animation that includes the meteor and the glowing trail that he said persisted for more than 10 minutes.

Mike also captured the fireball at the top edge of the field of view on his security camera.

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Meteor

3rd of January, Isle of Man: Meteor shower tonight and partial solar eclipse, including New Moon

Bill Dale
Isle of Man
Mon, 03 Jan 2011 13:37 UTC
Image
© Bill DaleThe last partial solar eclipse visible from the Isle of Man was in 1999
Tonight's meteor shower and tomorrow morning's partial solar eclipse are under threat from poor visibility, but Isle of Man stargazers are keeping their fingers crossed for a a break in the clouds.

Weather forecasters at the Ronaldsway Met office say we should expect a cold night (3C) and the possibility of some heavy rain showers with snow on hills but that visibility at sea level will be "good occasionally moderate". The cloud cover is more difficult to predict, but it appears that there will be broken cloud overnight and in the morning.

Tonight sees a significant meteor shower and tomorrow sees a partial solar eclipse which happens at dawn. The Quadrantids meteor shower hits its peak between 11pm and midnight tonight and the partial solar eclipse can be visible low on the horizon at dawn tomorrow. Sunrise is 8.38am.
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Meteor

US: A Fireball in the Sky

preynvaan
Komo News
Mon, 03 Jan 2011 01:18 UTC
Seattle Fireball
© Komo News
Tonight I was out at the jetty at Westport taking pictures of the sunset. I caught a 'fireball' in the sky out of the corner of my eye. This is what I saw and took these pictures. It appeared from nowhere, fell for about 2 minutes then disappeared. Is it a meteor?

Seattle Fireball_2
© Komo News
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Meteor

Best of the Web: White House Adviser: US Must Prepare for Asteroid

Lee Speigel
AOL News
Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:48 UTC
Image
The White House has asked Congress to consider how to best deal with the potential threat to Earth of an impact with an asteroid from space.
If an asteroid were on a collision course with Earth, would we be ready to defend against its destructive impact or would we be helpless and defenseless?

NASA, America's space agency, is being charged with leading the way to protect not only the U.S. but the entire world in the event of such a horrifying scenario. And a top White House science adviser says we have to be prepared.

In separate 10-page letters to the House Committee on Science and Technology and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, or OSTP, outlines plans for "(A) protecting the United States from a near-Earth object that is expected to collide with Earth; and (B) implementing a deflection campaign, in consultation with international bodies, should one be necessary."
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Meteor

US: Meteors Scream Over Maryland for Past Two Nights

John Metcalfe
TDB
Thu, 30 Dec 2010 14:43 UTC
For a second night in a row, Maryland residents have reported large fireballs coursing through the night sky.

The latest apparent meteor sighting occurred around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and set Twitter alight with wondrous didja-see-thats??! "Whoa," reported Chris Noonan Sturm. "I think I just saw a meteor scream to earth over Rockville & 270 while walking dog. Crazy fast. Started white, turned green, red." Others chimed in to say they saw a "white ball" shoot over the horizon in Gaithersburg; one person said it "flared out" after flying over Clopper, Md.

On Tuesday, the sky over Frederick and Hagerstown lit up like daytime when what must have been an epic meteor broke through the atmosphere. The Frederick Post was quickly on the story, gathering the most terrifying quote perhaps ever printed about shooting stars:

"I heard this sizzling behind me. ... I turned and looked: This huge meteorite came. ... It was throwing off sparks and chunks," Labrush said. "I'm into meteorites - every time they call for meteor showers, I'm out. I very seldom get scared - (but) I never want to see another one like that."
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