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Weather webcam captures meteor passing over Queensland, Australia

Brisbane meteor
© Australian Weathercam NetworkDozens of people took to social media on Monday night after spotting a meteor over the skies of south east Queensland
A Brisbane webcam set up to monitor the weather has snapped the moment a meteor blazed over the city.

The Australian Weathercam Network's (AWN) camera at New Farm, which takes a photo every 20 seconds at night, captured the shooting star over a green-lit Story Bridge at exactly 7:50:40pm on Monday.

It was also sighted by dozens of people who took to social media to share their excitement.

Dr Stephen Hughes from Queensland University of Technology's Science and Engineering Faculty said the meteor had to be burning bright for it to be photographed so clearly over a brightly-lit Brisbane CBD.

"If it was in the sky for several seconds, that's in a fireball category, like something the size of an orange coming through the atmosphere," he said.

Dr Hughes said spotting a meteor was common, adding that a stargazer could see one as frequently as every half hour.

"If you see a meteor flash really quick it's probably the size of a grain of sand. If it's like this it could be bigger because it's burning for longer," he said.

"The fact it's got that light competition and it can still be seen ... I would veer towards something a bit bigger coming in."

Comment: NASA space data supports citizens' observations: Meteor fireballs are increasing dramatically


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Mysterious fireball seen in north Georgia sky

large fireball
© Dale Hulsey/ FacebookPeople all across the metro Atlanta area reported seeing a large fireball streak through the sky Monday afternoon over Snellville and Winder.
People all across the metro Atlanta area reported seeing a large fireball streak through the sky Monday afternoon over Snellville and Winder.

Several WSB-TV viewers submitted images and video to Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Glenn Burns of the object, which was spotted around 3:45 p.m.
Okay...so we have a mystery on our hands. I know some people who know some people...we will find out something soon.
...Posted by Glenn Burns on Monday, January 11, 2016

Glenn spoke to officials at the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, who say they believe the mysterious fireball is space debris, but so far, no one has officially determined what it was.


Here is the video of this object seen over Snellville at 3:45 this afternoon. No sound was observed. This was submitted by one of our FB friends.
Posted by Glenn Burns on Monday, 11 January 2016

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NASA creates a 'Planetary Defense Coordination Office' that will track meteors headed toward Earth

Asteroids hitting Earth
© Getty

Why is NASA suddenly so concerned about meteors and asteroids hitting the Earth? After telling us that "no large object is likely to strike the Earth any time in the next several hundred years" last year, NASA is now spending millions of dollars to set up a "Planetary Defense Coordination Office" that will be headed up by a designated "Planetary Defense Officer". According to NASA, more than 13,500 near Earth objects have been found so far, and another 1,500 new NEOs are being discovered each year. Approximately 10 percent of all near Earth objects are one kilometer or larger in size, and if one of those giant space rocks ever hit us, it would likely be considered an "extinction level event". It makes sense that NASA would be concerned about this threat, but why now?

The announcement of this new office was made on Friday, and very few mainstream news outlets covered it. But I did find this story on CNBC...
If and when the interplanetary asteroid apocalypse comes, NASA plans to be prepared.

In a little noticed move this week, the space agency announced that it had created a directorate for "detecting and tracking near earth objects (NEOs)."

The new Planetary Defense Coordination Office—which, despite its science fiction-sounding name, is part of a very real effort to ward off the potentially deadly impact of asteroids that may hit the planet—is charged with supervising "all NASA-funded projects to find and characterize asteroids and comets that pass near Earth's orbit around the sun."
Of course once again NASA played down the idea that there is any sort of "imminent threat" during the announcement of this new program, but if there is no threat why go to so much trouble and effort?

According to the Washington Times, one of the things that this new Planetary Defense Coordination Office will be focusing on is a way to "redirect" potentially dangerous asteroids...

Comment: No. Even NASA's own space data supports citizens' recent observations, namely the inconvenient fact that meteor fireballs are increasing dramatically.

Asteroid 'redirection' or 'deflection' remains just theoretical. A more accurate way of looking at it is that NASA is funding deflection and redirection of the topic of space threats by 'getting the message out' that 'everything is just fine'.

It is well worth remembering what can come out of the sky, without any warning at all, such as the Chelyabinsk meteor in February 2013:


For more on the very high probability of Earth soon being on the receiving end of direct or indirect cometary bombardment, and why, see Laura Knight-Jadczyk's Comets and Catastrophe series: And the books: Comets and the Horns of Moses by Laura Knight-Jadczyk and Earth Changes and the Human Cosmic Connection: The Secret History of the World - Book 3 by Pierre Lescaudron and Laura Knight-Jadczyk


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Huge meteor fireball lights up sky over Argentina

Huge meteor fireball over Argentina
© Youtube/Merve Kavak (screen capture)
Fire In The Sky Huge Meteor Lights Up Argentina.


Comment: NASA space data supports citizens' observations: Meteor fireballs are increasing dramatically
comparing 2014 to 2013, the frequency of fireballs increased by 120%. Comparing 2015 to 2014, fireballs increased by 20%. That is a significant increase, and it should be generating a lot of attention. If it is, then it's being done very quietly behind closed doors.
Further research into increased meteor fireball activity - including its causes, effects, and role in human history - can be found in Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection by Pierre Lescaudron and Laura Knight-Jadczyk.


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Meteor fireball filmed over Tulsa, Oklahoma

Fireball
January 9, 2016 Meteor - Tulsa Oklahoma


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Mysterious fireball-like object filmed over Ukraine, Belarus and Russia

Mysterious flying object
What was this mysterious flying object spotted over Ukraine, Belarus and Russia on January 3, 2016?
A mysterious flying object was observed in the sky of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia on January 3, 2016.

But nobody knows what it is. Here maybe a clue...

Cameras of the Ukrainian observation network recorded a burning meteor-like object striking the sky of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia at around 9:40 pm local time.

The strange flashing object was travelling at an altitude of ~ 77 km and a speed of about 6 km/s, from the southwest to the northeast.

Its disintegration created a long, wide, slightly glowing orange-red trail resembling a slow-burning gases. Was it a comet? A meteor? Space junk?


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SOTT Focus: NASA space data supports citizens' observations: Meteor fireballs are increasing dramatically

fireball bangkok
© Sott.netAnother spectacular meteor fireball explodes high above Bangkok, Thailand on November 2nd, 2015
SOTT.net last looked in detail at the frequency of meteor fireballs in 2013, using the data garnered by the American Meteor Society (AMS). SOTT.net pointed out the increasing frequency of fireballs1, and asked the question: "What does 2014 have in store?"

Well, the results are in, and the answer is simple: comparing 2014 to 2013, the frequency of fireballs increased by 120%. Comparing 2015 to 2014, fireballs increased by 20%. That is a significant increase, and it should be generating a lot of attention. If it is, then it's being done very quietly behind closed doors.

Since October 2013, the web site spaceweather.com has published daily data from NASA's All-Sky Fireball Network, which observes, and daily reports, fireball activity over the US.2

I have collated both sets of data - from NASA and the AMS - to produce the following graphs, taking into account that each dataset relies on different definitions of 'meteor fireball'. Click on the graphs to view them at full size.

fireballs increase
© Dr M.A. RoseOverall increase in meteor fireballs over the US in the last decade

Comment: Readers interested in the changing near-space environment might enjoy our research into increased asteroid and fireball activity - including its causes, effects, and role in human history - in Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection.


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Meteor fireball filmed in Blanchester, Ohio

screenshot fireball

Meteor 1/7/16 Blanchester, OH


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Bright meteor fireballs streak across Arizona and New Mexico skies

fireballs over Arizona and New Mexico
© nemesis maturity/youtube (screen capture)

Two bright meteors explode over AZ & NM in U.S. in the early hours of January 3, 2016.

The bright meteors recorded by the NASA All Sky Fireball Network exploding up to the atmosphere.


The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 04JAN2016

Clips credit: NASA All Sky Fireball Network

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Supermarket worker sees meteor break up over Plymouth, UK

David Butland with some of the meteorites he has collected previously
© John AllenDavid Butland with some of the meteorites he has collected previously
A supermarket worker claims he saw a meteorite enter the earth's atmosphere and break up over Plymouth.

Amateur space watcher David Butland, aged 42, says he was standing outside his parents' house in Beacon Park at about 7pm on New Year's Eve when he noticed a "yellowish light" in the sky, passing from south to north.

"I kept watching it and it started growing and changing colour," David said.

"About 10 seconds before it disappeared it started burning up, then four or five fragments broke off it.

"Originally the colour was mainly white, but as it started to break up it turned into a tint of yellow then deep yellow as more pieces broke off.