Fireballs
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Fireball 3

Loud explosion, bright fireball in sky mystifies Sabah, Malaysia residents

Natasha Joibi
The Star
Tue, 21 Aug 2018 16:00 UTC
Fireball over Malaysia
© YouTube/ Suara Masyarakat Sabah
Mystery surrounded a loud booming sound that was followed by tremours seen and felt in some parts of West Coast Sabah late Monday night (Aug 20).

The incident reportedly happened at about 11.35pm, causing a stir among residents in Kota Belud, Kota Marudu, Tuaran, Sepanggar and Kota Kinabalu.

Speculation is rife on social media that the explosive sound was part of a military exercise at Paradise Camp in Kota Belud, while others associated the noise with a bright fireball seen streaking across the sky that same night.

However, Sabah Meteorological Department director Azemi Daud said it was likely that the explosion was caused by a shooting star or meteor shower, although he was unable to pinpoint the location of the incident.

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Meteor

Unexplained boom rocks courthouse, homes in Gatesville, Texas


KWTX
Fri, 17 Aug 2018 10:03 UTC
Coryell County Courthouse
© Paul J. Gately (file photo)The Coryell County Courthouse
Something exploded somewhere Friday morning that that rocked the Coryell Courthouse in Gatesville, shook homes, and broke out some windows, but authorities said Friday afternoon they have been unable to locate the source.

Some residents also reported hearing a second loud explosion at around 2:40 p.m. Friday.

"We've checked out the western part of the county, after report of second boom near Pearl. All is clear," Chief Coryell County Deputy Mark Wilcox said Friday afternoon.

The first explosion at around 9:45 a.m. Friday was felt not only in Gatesville, but for miles around the community.

"It rattled the entire shop," said resident Ronnie Bond, who lives on Powell Drive.

"It sounded like it was behind us towards the east. It was scary because it was so loud and all the neighbors ran out on the street because they were concerned, too, because of the recent tragedy," he said, referring to the explosion in June at Coryell Memorial Hospital.
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Fireball 2

Very bright meteor fireball with sonic boom lights up Alabama sky

Lee Roop
AL.com
Fri, 17 Aug 2018 20:35 UTC
alabama meteor fireball
© NASA/MEO
NASA has released video of "a very bright" fireball that lit up the sky over Alabama just after midnight Friday morning. The official time of sighting was 12:19 a.m. CDT.

The fireball, which is NASA's word for a very bright meteor, was described as "at least 40 times as bright as the Full Moon." It was first seen 58 miles above Turkeytown, Ala. northeast of Gadsden, according to NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at Huntsville's Marshall Space Flight Center.

The fireball was moving northwest at 53,700 miles per hour and fragmented about 18 miles above the small town of Grove Oak, NASA said.

"Early results indicate the (meteor) was caused by a small asteroid 6 feet in diameter," NASA said. "We are still assessing the probability of the fireball producing meteorites on the ground."

"Whether it did or not," NASA said, "it was an extremely bright event seen through partly cloudy skies and triggering every camera and sensor operated by the Meteroid Environment Office in the region."


Comment: The American Meteor Society has received 44 reports from people living in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina, with some hearing/feeling a sonic boom.

Courtesy of WRCB, additional footage of the event can be viewed here,

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Attention

Loud boom reported by hundreds in Canberra, Australia remains a mystery

Blake Foden
The Canberra Times
Tue, 14 Aug 2018 07:57 UTC
Mystery boom
© Fox24
"Did anyone hear that loud bang?"

It's the post that inevitably sparks sarcasm and ridicule on social media, but on Sunday night, it was instead curiosity that dominated the conversation in Canberra community Facebook groups.

Hundreds of people reported hearing what sounded like an explosion, described as "a huge echoing boom", somewhere around Holt about 9.03pm.

Many said it shook their houses, while others described seeing an orange flash at the same time and shared images from their CCTV cameras.

While there is no shortage of reports, there are so far no answers on what caused the mysterious bang.
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Fireball 5

Spectacular lightshow or harbinger of doom? 5 facts about tonight's Perseid meteor shower


RT
Sun, 12 Aug 2018 13:12 UTC
Perseid showers
© Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
This year's Perseid meteor shower promises to be one of the best for stargazers as a new Moon bringing darker skies means night time conditions are optimum for this potentially catastrophic cosmic event.

The trail of shooting stars created by the Swift-Tuttle comet have been active in the night sky since mid-July, however, they have been peaking since August 11 and as many 70 shooting stars per hour are expected to be visible from Earth in the early hours of Monday morning.

Here's five more facts about the Perseid meteor shower:

One of the most consistent:

The Perseid meteor shower is one of the most reliable showers year-after-year with Comet Swift-Tuttle being in orbit for thousands of years. It takes 133 years to ellipse the Sun and this is the first year it has passed into the inner solar system since 1991. The next time will be in 2126.

Comment: See also: The annual Perseids: Astronomers prepare for Earth to 'plow' into fiery meteor shower

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Pills

Chronic: For big pharma, the perfect patient is wealthy, permanently ill and a daily pill-popper

Clayton Dalton
Aeon
Tue, 07 Aug 2018 20:54 UTC
Chronic
Will medicine ever recover?
Just a few years ago, infection with the hepatitis C virus guaranteed a slow and certain death for many. Available treatments were effective in about half of all patients, and the side effects could be awful. Things changed in 2014, when a new medication called Harvoni was approved to treat the infection. With cure rates approaching 99 per cent and far fewer side effects, the medication became an instant blockbuster. Sales topped $13.8 billion in 2015.

But then an odd thing happened - sales began to drop precipitously. Harvoni, in conjunction with four other hepatitis C drugs, is projected to generate only $4 billion this year, a three-fold decline in as many years. Part of this decline is due to new competitors entering the market. But according to analysts at Goldman Sachs, another reason could be that the drug's cure-rate erodes its own market.
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Fireball 2

Meteor fireball seen over Great Yarmouth, UK

Anthony Carroll
Great Yarmouth Mercury
Wed, 08 Aug 2018 13:09 UTC
The fireball was seen heading to Hemsby beach
© Mike PageThe fireball was seen heading to Hemsby beach
A mystery "fireball" has been spotted flying over a coastal village and over a neighbouring town with one witness saying it may have been meteorite.

The football-sized fireball like object was seen over Hemsby by a 73-year-old female resident of Beach Road from her home at about 11.25pm on Sunday.

She said: "It was not a firework. It was not an object, it was a ball of fire. It came from the right and the headed left. Something was coming out of the back, like a rocket does. It was quick. It headed towards the beach. It was not an object."

She added it was so quick she did not have time to think of taking a photograph.
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Meteor

Mystery explosion that shook walls in Auckland, New Zealand blamed on school fireworks


stuff.co.nz
Sat, 04 Aug 2018 21:09 UTC
Mystery boom in NZ
© HARRY SI/ SUPPLIED
A loud explosion was heard resonating through inner-city Auckland on Saturday.

Turns out it was fireworks being let off at a local school, a spokesperson for the New Zealand Fire Service said.

People streamed out onto the mean streets of Ponsonby on Saturday night to check out the boom. One bar emptied and the wall shook.

But residents and reveller are still unclear what caused it.

A Ponsonby resident say they heard a "massive explosion" between 7.30 and 7.40pm, causing neighbours to rush onto the street to see what happened.

Comment: See also: Meteor fireball streaks through the night sky above Sydney, Australia

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Fireball 2

Meteor fireball streaks through the night sky above Sydney, Australia

Bianca Bongato
Daily Mail
Sun, 05 Aug 2018 13:27 UTC
The meteor (pictured) was seen in different parts of New South Wales at around 6.30pm last night, leaving locals mystified
The meteor (pictured) was seen in different parts of New South Wales at around 6.30pm last night, leaving locals mystified
Sydney locals were left mystified after witnessing a meteor dash through the sky last night.

The meteor was seen across the city at around 6.30pm, with some lucky witnesses managing to capture incredible footage of the rare phenomenon.

Footage circulating on social media showed the fireball slowly growing larger and more visible as it streaked through the night sky.

The moment only lasted for a few seconds before the flash of light was gone.

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Fireball 2

February 2018 fireball activity higher than previous 5 years of same period combined over Benelux countries


Meteor News
Sun, 05 Aug 2018 08:03 UTC
A meteor fireball over Salvador, Bahia, Brazil on Tuesday 20th February 2018.
© A Tarde On LineA meteor fireball over Salvador, Bahia, Brazil on Tuesday 20th February 2018.
A summary of the activity of the CAMS BeNeLux network during the month February 2018 is presented. This month offered many clear nights, 11 nights with more than 200 orbits, 3 nights had over 300 orbits. In total 23439 meteors were recorded, 12931 of which proved multiple station, or 55%. In total 4147 orbits were collected during this month, more than during all previous months of February together.

1 Introduction

After two disappointing months, December 2017 and January 2018 with the most unfavorable weather possible for meteor video work, the poor weather continued the first few nights of February 2018 until a major improvement changed the situation from 5-6 February onwards. The month of February is a winter month with long nights in the BeNeLux while meteor activity is still fairly high. The weather used to be favorable during the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 when the network counted much less cameras than today. February 2017 was characterized by very bad weather circumstances with as many as 12 nights without any single orbit. What did February 2018 bring?

Comment: There are other signs that confirm meteor activity is on the increase, and those are the effects produced by 'meteor smoke' left in the atmosphere: SOTT Exclusive: NASA blowing meteor smoke as noctilucent clouds intensify

See also: And check out SOTT's: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - May 2018: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs



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