Fireballs

Meteor fireball recorded over Toledo, Spain

Meteors
Fri, 14 Aug 2020 21:47 UTC

This bright meteor overflew Spain on 2020 August 14 at about 3:10 local time (equivalent to 1:10 universal time). It was generated by a rock from a comet that hit the atmosphere at around 86,000 km/h. It began at an altitude of about 107 km over the province of Toledo, and ended at a height of around 57 km. The total length travelled by the meteoroid in the atmosphere was of about 63 km.

The event was recorded in the framework of the SMART project, which is being conducted by the Southwestern Europe Meteor Network (SWEMN). The event was spotted from the meteor-observing stations located at La Hita (Toledo), Sierra Nevada (Granada), and Seville.

Triple comet fly-pass imaged by SOHO

Karl Battams
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
Fri, 14 Aug 2020 18:34 UTC

First appearances can be deceiving, and one of the latest comet discoveries by SOHO is the perfect example of that!

SOHO is no stranger to discovering new comets - via the NASA-funded Sungrazer Project, the observatory has discovered over 4,000 previously unknown comets since launch in 1995. Most of SOHO's comet discoveries can be categorized into families, or groups, the most famous being the "Kreutz" sungrazer group which accounts for over 85% of the Project discoveries. Only around 4% -some 175 comets- do not appear to belong to any known group or comet family. However, these are often among the most interesting comets and this most recent discovery -SOHO's 4,049th comet- was no exception!

The comet was first spotted on August 5th, 2020, by amateur astronomer Worachate Boonplod. At discovery, it was just a tiny faint smudge near the edge of the C3 coronagraph images recorded SOHO's Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) instrument. As it neared the Sun over the next day or so, the smudge became increasingly elongated, ultimately hinting that it may be two comets pretending to be one!

This was confirmed as the comets entered the narrower field of view of the LASCO C2 camera, where the improved resolution confirmed that not only was this more than one comet, it was actually THREE comets! The two main components are easy to spot, with the third a very faint, diffuse fragment following alongside the leading piece.

Meteor fireball seen over Prince Edward Island, Canada during Perseid meteor shower

Bloomberg QuickTake News
YouTube
Thu, 13 Aug 2020 14:12 UTC

Large fireball blazes across Nova Scotia's sky

People in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in Canada spotted a 'fireball' streaking across the night sky on Tuesday, August 11, during the Perseid meteor shower, reports said.

Prince Edward Island resident Matthew Sentner shared this video showing the bright streak seen from Cavendish on Tuesday evening.

The annual Perseid meteor shower, likely to produce "a few meteors, including the occasional fireball," is best observed after midnight during the pre-dawn hours until August 24, NASA said.

Loud home-shaking boom in Saranac Lake, New York attributed to sonic boom

Mike Goodwin
Times Union
Thu, 06 Aug 2020 12:38 UTC

State Police say a sonic boom may have caused the explosive sound that rattled homes and businesses in the Adirondack Mountains Thursday morning.

The mysterious blast was heard at about 10:10 a.m. in the Saranac Lake area.

Troopers in Ray Brook said they were still trying to determine what caused the blast but said it appeared to be a sonic boom.

"It's sounding like there were jets flying over the area," Trooper Jennifer Fleishman said.

Fleishman said members of the State Police aviation operation heard the blast and said it sounded like a sonic boom caused when a jet travels faster than the speed of sound.

But so far, no regional air base was claiming responsibility.

New Comet C/2020 O2 (Amaral)

Ernesto Guido
Remanzacco Blogspot
Mon, 03 Aug 2020 19:44 UTC

CBET 4822 & MPEC 2020-P10, issued on 2020, August 02, announce the discovery of a comet (magnitude ~18) by Leonardo S. Amaral (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) on three 60-s CCD exposures taken on July 23 with a 0.3-m f/4 reflector. The new comet has been designated C/2020 O2 (Amaral).

We performed follow-up measurements of this object while it was still on the PCCP webpage.

Stacking of 16 unfiltered exposures, 90 seconds each, obtained remotely on 2020, July 27.05 from X02 (Telescope Live, Chile) through a 0.6-m f/6.5 astrograph + CCD, shows that this object is a comet with a diffuse coma about 8" in diameter (Observers E. Guido, M. Rocchetto, E. Bryssinck, M. Fulle, G. Milani, C. Nassef, G. Savini, A. Valvasori).

Our confirmation image (click on it for a bigger version)

Meteor fireball bursts over UK: 'I have never seen anything so bright'

Sean Martin
Daily Express (UK)
Fri, 31 Jul 2020 19:03 UTC

On July 30, a meteor burst into Earth's atmosphere producing a blast so bright it could be seen all the way in Belgium. The International Meteor Organisation (IMO) received more than 40 reports from Brits who were stunned by the astronomical phenomenon.

David said: "I have seen shooting stars previously but this was much more substantial and nearer to the planet."

Gemma added: "Only guessing it was a shooting star as have never seen anything move so fast or be so bright!"

Terry simply said: "Phenomenal". Asteroids and meteors produce a bright explosion of fire when they hit the atmosphere as it is the first time the space rock has ever met resistance.

David said: "I have seen shooting stars previously but this was much more substantial and nearer to the planet."

Gemma added: "Only guessing it was a shooting star as have never seen anything move so fast or be so bright!"

Terry simply said: "Phenomenal". Asteroids and meteors produce a bright explosion of fire when they hit the atmosphere as it is the first time the space rock has ever met resistance.

Bright meteor fireball blazes over southern Spain

Meteors
YouTube
Wed, 29 Jul 2020 10:47 UTC

This stunning meteor overflew the south of Spain on 2020 July 29 at about 2:31 local time (equivalent to 0:31 universal time). It was generated by a rock (a meteoroid) from an asteroid that hit the atmosphere at around 57,000 km/h. It began at an altitude of about 78 km over the province of Granada, and ended at a height of around 41 km over the province of Jaén.

The event was recorded in the framework of the SMART project, which is being conducted by the Southwestern Europe Meteor Network (SWEMN). The event was spotted from the meteor-observing stations located at Sevilla, Sierra Nevada (Granada), La Hita (Toledo), and Calar Alto.

Comment: Another meteor fireball flashed over southern Spain a week ago.

Meteor fireball lights up night sky over Colorado and New Mexico

RT
Wed, 29 Jul 2020 14:27 UTC

A fireball lit up the night skies across Colorado and New Mexico on Tuesday night, video of which has dazzled many online, while others couldn't help but speculate about invading aliens as a fitting addition to the chaos in 2020.

According to the American Meteor Society, there were at least 54 reports of a fireball spotted across the US at roughly 3am UT.

Incredible eyewitness video shared on social media captured the moment the apparent meteorite, complete with greenish hue, broke up upon entry in the Earth's atmosphere.

Guys, we just saw one of the craziest things we have ever seen in our lives and I managed to capture some of it. A meteor for the ages! pic.twitter.com/kPIchIPREV
— Amber Coffman (@Amber_Coffman) July 29, 2020

Home surveillance camera captures bright meteor fireball over southwestern Illinois

Inigo Monzon
International Business Times
Sat, 25 Jul 2020 16:16 UTC

An eyewitness in Illinois captured a video of a fireball flying across the sky. It is not yet clear if the fiery object was caused by a falling meteor that hit Earth or a piece of space debris that entered the atmosphere.

According to the American Meteor Society (AMS), the fireball event happened on Saturday evening. It was spotted over Collinsville, Illinois.

The eyewitness who submitted the report to the AMS provided video footage taken by his home's doorbell security camera. The short clip showed a bright object streaking across the sky. According to the eyewitness, a loud sound similar to a jet flying can be heard as the fireball flew overhead.

The eyewitness, named Michael K., noted that the fireball appeared in the sky for about 20 seconds. It had a light yellowish color and a magnitude of -13, making it brighter than the planet Venus when viewed from Earth.

Meteor fireball flashes over southern Spain

Meteors
YouTube
Wed, 22 Jul 2020 16:01 UTC

This beautiful meteor overflew the south of Spain on 2020 July 22 at about 3:49 local time (equivalent to 1:49 universal time). It was generated by a rock (a meteoroid) from a comet that hit the atmosphere at around 220,000 km/h. It began at an altitude of about 120 km over the Gulf of Cadiz (Atlantic Ocean), and ended at a height of around 75 km over the sea level.

The event was recorded in the framework of the SMART project, which is being conducted by the Southwestern Europe Meteor Network (SWEMN). The event was spotted from the meteor-observing stations located at Sevilla and Calar Alto.