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© Croatian Astronomical Union/Screenshot
Experts from the Croatian Astronomical Union estimate that a lump weighing about 150 grams ended up on the ground, but say they will not go looking for it because of the dangerous and impassable terrain.
The fireball was filmed by cameras of the Croatian Meteor Network from Buzet, Hum, Pula, Roč and Tićan, but also by cameras of the Global Meteor Network from Italy and Slovenia, and even from Prague.
There are new discoveries to be made, even in the inner solar system. This was highlighted this past week with the announcement of the discovery of tiny asteroid 2021 PH27. The asteroid orbits the Sun in just 113 days, the shortest orbital period for any known asteroid and the second shortest orbital period for any object in the solar system next to the planet Mercury, at 88 days.
The discovery was made by astronomer Scott S. Sheppard (Carnegie Institution for Science) after searching through images taken by Ian Dell'Antonio and Shenming Fu (both Brown University) at evening twilight on August 13, 2021. Subsequent observations with multiple telescopes around the world enabled astronomers to confirm the asteroid's orbit.
The initial discovery observations were made using the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) based at the National Science Foundation's Blanco 4-meter telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) complex in Chile. Although the primary mission for the Dark Energy Camera is the study of cosmic expansion, the Brown University astronomers agreed to use DECam at the beginning of their observing run to take wide-field images in the fading twilight.
The discovery was made by astronomer Scott S. Sheppard (Carnegie Institution for Science) after searching through images taken by Ian Dell'Antonio and Shenming Fu (both Brown University) at evening twilight on August 13, 2021. Subsequent observations with multiple telescopes around the world enabled astronomers to confirm the asteroid's orbit.
© CTIO / NSF / NOIRLab / Aura / J. da SilvaAn artist's conception of asteroid 2021 PH27.
But what many South Africans thought was a spectacular meteor shower early on Tuesday evening was actually a "bolide", a very bright meteor that often explodes on entry into the Earth's atmosphere and can be seen over a wide expanse. It comprises 1 to 10-metre rocks of around 1 648°C and can also be called a fireball.
Dr Daniel Cunnama, science engagement astronomer at the SA Astronomical Observatory, said: ''A bolide is a single meteor breaking up on entry. A bolide is a very bright meteor.
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© Stefano M.
For this event, we received one video and one photo.
For this event, we received one video.
© Carsten J.
For this event, we received one video and one photo.
© Science: NASA, ESA, Quanzhi Ye (UMD); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)This pair of Hubble Space Telescope images of comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS), taken on April 20 and April 23, 2020, reveal the breakup of the solid nucleus of the comet. Hubble photos identify as many as 30 separate fragments. The comet was approximately 91 million miles from Earth when the images were taken. The comet has been artificially colored in this view to enhance details for analysis.
While the event isn't recorded in any historical account, the team were able to gather clues from more recently sighted comets.
In a paper published in the Astronomical Journal, they examined observations made by the Hubble Space Telescope of the comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4), which Hubble watched break into pieces last year.
This comet is thought to be a fragment of a larger one that passed by the Earth in 1844, shining as brightly as Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.
By tracing the two comets' motions back through time, the researchers figured out that they are likely both parts of an even bigger one that last zipped through the inner Solar System 5,000 years ago, around the time that Ancient Egyptians were first settling into the Nile valley.
Comment: See also: Volcanoes, Earthquakes And The 3,600 Year Comet Cycle