Fire in the SkyS


Meteor

Observations of a very bright fireball and its likely link with comet C/1919

 Bejar bolide
© J. Perez Vallejo/SPMN)A close-up image of the Bejar bolide, photographed from Torrelodones, Madrid, Spain.

Last July, people in Spain, Portugal and France watched the brilliant fireball produced by a boulder crashing down through the Earth's atmosphere. In a paper to be published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, astronomers Josep M. Trigo-Rodríguez (Institute of Space Sciences, CSIC-IEEC, Spain), José M. Madiedo (University of Huelva-CIECEM, Spain) and Iwan P. Williams (Queen Mary, University of London) present dramatic images of this event.

The scientists go on to explain how the boulder may originate from a comet which broke up nearly 90 years ago and suggest the tantalising possibility that chunks of the boulder (and hence pieces of the comet) are waiting to be found on the ground.

Meteor

Last Summer's Fireball in Pieces on the Ground?

Astronomers have analyzed the cometary fireball that blazed across the sky over Europe last year and concluded it was a dense object, about a meter (3.2 feet) across and with a mass of nearly two tons - large enough that some fragments probably survived intact and fell to the ground as meteorites.

Fireball
© J. Perez Vallejo/SPMNThe Bejar bolide photographed from Torrelodones, Madrid, Spain. The incoming fireball is the streak to the right of the floodlit house. The bright light at the top is the overexposed Moon.
Last July, people in Spain, Portugal and France watched the brilliant fireball produced by a boulder crashing down through the Earth's atmosphere. In a paper to be published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, astronomer Josep M. Trigo-Rodríguez, of the Institute of Space Sciences in Spain, and his co-authors present dramatic images of the event. The scientists also explain how the boulder may originate from a comet which broke up nearly 90 years ago, and suggest that chunks of the boulder (and hence pieces of the comet) are waiting to be found on the ground.

"If we are right, then by monitoring future encounters with other clouds of cometary debris, we have the chance to recover meteorites from specific comets and analyse them in a lab," Dr Trigo-Rodríguez said. "Handling pieces of comet would fulfil the long-held ambitions of scientists - it would effectively give us a look inside some of the most enigmatic objects in the Solar System."

Radar

Damage Control? Sonic booms increase with weather, training

The recent bout of cold weather and a wave of training exercises have contributed to an upswing in sonic booms, according to officials from nearby air force bases.

The noises frequently occur during routine aircraft testing at sites like Edwards Air Force Base, 50 miles west of Barstow.

When colder weather hits, sonic booms can travel well beyond their normal 70 to 100 mile range, especially during the months from November to April, according to John Haire, director of operations and media relations chief at the base.

The sound travels better when temperatures drop, said Haire, adding that cloud cover also causes the sonic booms to reflect off both the ground and the cloud ceiling, bouncing the sound waves farther.

UFO

Eke, Belgium - Two Red/Orange Fireballs

Posted: February 5, 2009

Date: February 3, 2009
Time: 8:52 p.m.
Number of witnesses: 2
Number of Objects: 2
Shape of Objects: Round without tail.

Full Description of Event/Sighting: Two red/orange fireballs without tail moving from SSW to NNE. Very bright light, like a rounded candle flame that just got lit. Moving with a continuous speed, horizontally in the night sky. At one time, the second object seemed to stand still for a couple of seconds, moving a bit from left to right and back. And then continued it's way afterwards to disappear in the far sky.

Meteor

Australia: Gold Coast sonic boom remains a mystery

Guanaba Gorge
Guanaba Gorge
Authorities are baffled by a mystery explosion that shook the ground around Guanaba, west of the Gold Coast, last night.

A spokesman for the seismological office in Brisbane said their instruments had not recorded any ground shockwaves, despite dozens of residents reporting hearing a loud noise and vibrations.

Meteor

US: Sonic booms have Islanders jumping

Marco Island, Florida - Is it a bomb? Is it a plane? Or is it a sonic boom? Loud bangs have Islanders looking to the sky with wonder.


Comment: How about a meteorite exploding in the upper atmosphere?


Occasional loud booms had Marco Islanders and others in Southern Collier County wondering what the noise was Wednesday and Thursday.

Marco Island city officials received several calls about the banging noises, said Public Information Coordinator Lisa Douglass.

Police Chief Thom Carr said officers heard the noise too, but they weren't sure what they were.

Meteor

England: Bradford, Yorkshire - Looked Like A Large Fireball In The Sky

Posted: February 2, 2009

Date: January 13, 2009
Time: 5:20 p.m.
Number of witnesses: 3
Number of objects: 1
Shape of objects: Ball.

Full Description of event/sighting: I was watching TV in the bedroom when I caught a glimpse, out of the corner of my eye of what appeared to be a fireball in the sky.

Meteor

India: Meteorite hits Akhnoor

A meteorite hit Akhnoor area in Jammu, Saturday night following which many astronomical organizations rushed their teams to study the phenomenon on the spot.

The meteorite, according to the locals, descended in the open ground at 11.25 pm. However, it didn't cause any damage to life or property, owing to its smaller size and low velocity, the locals added.

Many astronomical organizations including Indian Space Research Organization, TATA Institute of Research and the Kashmir University dispatched their teams to the area.

Meteor

Meteor Spotted Over Le Mars, Iowa

Did anyone else see the crazy falling star on Wednesday night?

I was driving into Le Mars from the north, and when I was about a mile out of town, I saw a giant blue-green falling star with some white flecks, which looked like it was headed straight for my little house.

Meteor

US: Massachusetts & Rhode Island Fireball 23JAN09 8:48pm EST

Fireball sighting: Observers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island are reporting a "huge, pulsating blue-green fireball" sighted within minutes of 8:48 pm EST on Jan. 23rd. It was bright enough to be seen through heavy cloud cover, according to one witness.
Source: Robert Woolard, USA

Masspike fireball: Last night a meteoroid of unknown size hit Earth's atmosphere over New England. Its bright, blue-green disintegration startled motorists driving along the Massachusetts Turnpike and surrounding areas: eye-witness accounts.