Fireballs

Bright meteor fireball lights up skies above Tokyo as witnesses report explosion

The Japan Times
Thu, 02 Jul 2020 13:58 UTC

A huge fireball crosses the sky above the Kanto region at around 2:32 a.m. on July 2. (Captured from a video taken by Kagaya)

A bright meteor crossed the sky above Tokyo early Thursday, with many people saying they heard it explode.

Social media came alive after the 2:30 a.m. sightings, with many people saying they heard a large bang. Some said they mistook the sound for noise made by neighbors.

"I thought a person living (in the condo) above knocked down a shelf," wrote one Twitter user, while another said, "I thought my child sleeping on the second floor fell out of bed."

Others witnessed the sky suddenly light up.

Impact of meteorites led to life-giving amino acids on Earth

Tetsuya Ishikura
The Asahi Shimbun
Thu, 25 Jun 2020 10:58 UTC

© Provided byTohoku University associate professor Yoshihiro Furukawa
An illustration of how a meteorite struck Earth 4 billion years ago.

A simulation of how substances essential for living creatures were formed on Earth reinforces the theory that life started after meteorites rained down on the planet.

Living organisms are said to have emerged on Earth 4 billion years ago. A large number of meteorites are believed to have bombarded the planet 200 million years before and after the birth of life.

"Materials needed for the start of life may have been generated over long periods, offering a chance for life to appear," said Yoshihiro Furukawa, an associate professor of geochemistry at Tohoku University.

Furukawa and his colleagues primarily from the university put carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water and iron in a container to reproduce conditions of primordial times. The vessel was then struck with a piece of metal to simulate the impact from a meteorite.

Newly detected chi Phoenicids meteor shower

SETI Institute
Mon, 22 Jun 2020 22:17 UTC

The ongoing night-time video surveillance of the night sky called "CAMS" has discovered a meteor shower caused by yet another unknown long-period comet that passed close to Earth's orbit in a past return. SETI Institute meteor astronomer Peter Jenniskens reports that this shower was briefly seen on June 10 by southern hemisphere networks of the CAMS project in New Zealand, Namibia and Chile (see the map for June 10 at this project website.

The meteoroid stream is unusual in that its orbit is nearly exactly perpendicular to the plane of the planets, having an inclination of 90.2 +/- 1.0 degrees. The shower has received the name "chi Phoenicids" and has been added as number 1036 to the list of meteor shower names maintained by the International Astronomical Union. A telegram announcing the discovery (CBET 4798) was issued today.

Bolide explodes over Kansas illuminating the night sky

Sott.net
Sun, 21 Jun 2020 06:59 UTC

The American Meteor Society (AMS) has received 22 reports (event 2967-2020) about a meteor fireball seen over AR, KS, MO, OK and TX on Friday, June 19th 2020 around 05:36 UT.

Paul M Smith was recording storms over Kansas when he captured the likely bolide (meteor brighter than the planet Venus) illuminating the night sky.

Another meteorite-like object falls from sky in Rajasthan, India

Naresh Khileri
India Today
Fri, 19 Jun 2020 13:37 UTC

The meteorite-like subject which fell from the sky in Rajasthan.

A meteorite-like object fell from the sky in Rajasthan's Sanchore town on Friday morning. The object resulted in a one-foot-deep crater and created an explosive sound that was heard up to two kilometers away. The unidentified object is currently with the police and under investigation.

According to locals, an explosive sound was heard when the object fell from the sky. The fall and the sound resulted in panic in the area.

The object was emitting heat even three hours after it crashed leading many to believe it may explode. As a result, the administration advised locals to stay away. After it cooled down, it was put in a jar. According to the police, the object will be investigated by experts.

"There was a massive sound in the morning when the object fell from the sky -- it was as if an airplane had crashed. However, no one could spot what had fallen. It was only after sometime that the object was noticed in a one-foot-deep pit in the ground. It had fallen about 100 metres from my house. We immediately informed local authorities," says Ajmal Devasi, a local.

Mangal Singh, Information Bureau Inspector, Jalore district, said, "After we received information about the unidentified object, department officials reached the spot. The unidentified object was found to be three kilometers heavy and was very hot. Investigation is underway."

Comment: In February this year a meteorite hit a factory compound in Alwar, Rajasthan, India reportedly causing a 20-feet deep crater.

Other reported meteor impacts so far this year include:

Three bright meteor fireballs recorded within 90 minutes over Puerto Rico

Sott.net
Fri, 19 Jun 2020 06:35 UTC

Three bright meteor fireballs were recorded within 90 minutes over Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico on June 16th 2020, facing slightly NW between the hours of 04:40 UTC and 06:08 UTC (12:40 and 2:08 am).

New Comet C/2020 K8 (CATALINA-ATLAS)

Ernesto Guido
Remanzacco Blogspot
Wed, 17 Jun 2020 17:12 UTC

CBET 4796 & MPEC 2020-L46, issued on 2020, June 12, announce the independent discovery of a comet (magnitude ~19) of an apparently asteroidal object made on CCD images taken with the 0.68-m Schmidt telescope of the Catalina Sky Survey (on May 25, 28, and 29) and the 0.5-m f/2 Schmidt reflector at Haleakala, Hawaii, in the course of the "Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System" (ATLAS) search program (on June 7). Then on June 8, R. Weryk reported the linkage of all of these tracklets, suggesting it might possibly be a comet based upon the astrometry. The object has been found to show cometary appearance subsequently by numerous CCD astrometrists at other observing sites after the object was posted on the Minor Planet Center's PCCP webpage. The new comet has been designated C/2020 K8 (CATALINA-ATLAS).
We performed follow-up measurements of this object while it was still on the PCCP webpage.

Stacking of 29 unfiltered exposures, 60 seconds each, obtained remotely on 2020, June 09.4 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 irregular coma about 10" in diameter (Observers E. Guido, M. Rocchetto, E. Bryssinck, M. Fulle, G. Milani, C. Nassef, G. Savini).

Stacking of 24 unfiltered exposures, 57 seconds each, obtained remotely on 2020, June 10.4 from U69 (iTelescope, Auberry California) through a 0.61-m f/6.5 astrograph + CCD, shows that this object is a comet with a diffuse coma about 15" in diameter slightly elongated toward PA 358 (Observers A. Valvasori, E. Guido).

Our confirmation images (click here for a bigger version)

India's Lake Lonar turns pink baffling scientists and locals

Outlook India
Mon, 15 Jun 2020 21:58 UTC

Maharashtra's Lonar Lake has turned pink overnight, leaving scientists and locals baffled about the reasons behind this change. Located in the Buldana district about 500 km from Mumbai, the Lonar crater had formed due to a meteorite, which hit the earth about 50,000 years ago.

This is the world's third-largest crater formed due to a meteorite strike. People in the area were considerably surprised when the lake's normal bluish-green water turned a pinkish red.

Reports of 'explosion' like noise heard across Waterford, Ireland

Karen Tomkins
WLR FM
Thu, 11 Jun 2020 11:24 UTC

Air Traffic Control at Waterford Airport say they haven't received reports of unusual activity in the skies of Waterford City.

They were responding to claims that a very loud noise, described as being like an explosion was heard at around half past ten last night.

Mystery surrounds the noise, heard by people in the city centre, Ferrybank and in the Dunmore Road and Tramore Road areas.

It has been described by some who heard it as a 'sonic boom'.

People took to social media to describe the incident, however Waterford Gardai say they didn't receive any reports from the public.

One Facebook user in Ursuline Court caught the sound on video.

Spectacular meteor fireball lights up the night sky over Pilbara, Western Australia

Peta Rasdien
PerthNow
Mon, 15 Jun 2020 06:29 UTC

© Shaz Hussien
Residents were left stunned after a mysterious green glow (pictured) lit up the night sky on Sunday evening

Pilbara residents have been treated to an astronomical spectacle overnight after a green fireball lit up the night sky.

The meteor was spotted at 12.46am on Monday morning and was caught on camera by shocked onlookers — including the Karratha Police — in Port Hedland and Cape Preston, near Karratha.

Matt Woods from the Perth Observatory said the green colour was the result of magnesium from the rock burning up as it entered the atmosphere.

It was likely no bigger than a pebble and was probably travelling between 16-50km per second.

"So that's like going from the Perth Hills to the CBD in a second," Mr Woods said.

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Fireballs

Bright meteor fireball lights up skies above Tokyo as witnesses report explosion

Impact of meteorites led to life-giving amino acids on Earth

Newly detected chi Phoenicids meteor shower

Bolide explodes over Kansas illuminating the night sky

Another meteorite-like object falls from sky in Rajasthan, India

Three bright meteor fireballs recorded within 90 minutes over Puerto Rico

New Comet C/2020 K8 (CATALINA-ATLAS)

India's Lake Lonar turns pink baffling scientists and locals

Reports of 'explosion' like noise heard across Waterford, Ireland

Spectacular meteor fireball lights up the night sky over Pilbara, Western Australia

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