Fireballs

'Fireball' meteorite contains pristine extraterrestrial organic compounds

Phys.org
Tue, 27 Oct 2020 09:21 UTC

© Field Museum
The meteorite fragment that fell on Strawberry Lake which contains pristine extraterrestrial organic compounds.

On the night of January 16, 2018, a fireball meteor streaked across the sky over the Midwest and Ontario before landing on a frozen lake in Michigan. Scientists used weather radar to find where the pieces landed and meteorite hunters were able to collect the meteorite quickly, before its chemical makeup got changed by exposure to liquid water. And, as a new paper in Meteoritics & Planetary Science shows, that gave scientists a glimpse of what space rocks are like when they're still in outer space — including a look at pristine organic compounds that could tell us about the origins of life.

"This meteorite is special because it fell onto a frozen lake and was recovered quickly. It was very pristine. We could see the minerals weren't much altered and later found that it contained a rich inventory of extraterrestrial organic compounds," says Philipp Heck, a curator at the Field Museum, associate professor at the University of Chicago, and lead author of the new paper. "These kinds of organic compounds were likely delivered to the early Earth by meteorites and might have contributed to the ingredients of life."

Comment: Michigan Meteor Event: Fireball Numbers Increased Again in 2017

Western America spots 'most amazing' meteor fireball brighter than the Moon

Sean Martin
The Express (UK)
Sun, 25 Oct 2020 12:17 UTC

Western America spots 'most amazing' meteor brighter than the Moon

Residents of the west coast of America were treated to a spectacular phenomenon when a "jaw-dropping" fireball streaked across the night's sky.

People of California, Oregon and Washington spotted what some are calling the "most amazing" fireball they have ever seen. The fireball, which was a meteor which hit the atmosphere, came into view on the evening of October 23. Hundreds of people witnessed the phenomenon, flocking to the International Meteor Organisation (IMO) to report their sighting.
David told the IMO: "It was beyond incredible."

Debra detailed her experience, saying: "The object falling was so green and dramatic that I began screaming to the passenger in my car - 'oh, my God--look, look at that...'

"I then saw it break into a few pieces, and continued trying to look to the extent my passenger was helping me to drive.

Fireball meteor seen in the sky over Alaska on October 15

Ned Rozell
gi.alaska.edu
Thu, 22 Oct 2020 10:35 UTC

Katie Kangas operates a bed-and-breakfast in Ruby, Alaska. On the morning of October 15, she turned to look out her picture window, toward the cabin next door. She was waiting for her client to switch the light on, at which point she would step out and deliver his breakfast.

Staring out into the darkness, she and her husband Ivan saw "an enormous ball of light in the sky to the west. It was moving north to south, and was quite big."

A few hundred miles northwest, Daisy Sours was standing outside in Selawik, Alaska, at about 7:30 that morning. She saw something she never had before.

"It looked like fireworks, until it split into four dots," she said.

Second meteor fireball seen over Puerto Rico in 4 days

WION
Fri, 23 Oct 2020 10:04 UTC

Fireball spotted in Puerto Rico

Hundreds of people called up the authorities and updated their social media timelines as the locals spotted a fireball in the night skies of Puerto Rico.

The locals took to social media to share pictures and videos of colourful fireball above the Caribbean island.

A video was shot and shared by Frankie Lucena (@frankie57pr) on Twitter in which the fireball can be seen heading in a downward direction, which the spectator claimed can be "a Taurid".

Colorful fireball from last night. The tail seems to be pointing in the direction of Taurus so it could be a Taurid meteor. 4K version at https://t.co/qY2JvyqMgl and https://t.co/dgdkUeJExN @adamonzon @DeborahTiempo @weatherchannel @amsmeteors @SkyandTelescope @pgbrown pic.twitter.com/HMSJyoQd9E
— Frankie Lucena (@frankie57pr) October 21, 2020

Comment: Witnessed on Oct 17: Bright meteor fireball over Puerto Rico

Bright meteor fireball recorded over Puerto Rico

Sott.net
Mon, 19 Oct 2020 10:45 UTC

A very bright meteor was visible from all over the island at around 3:44 am on Saturday, reported the Society for Astronomy of the Caribbean (SAC).

A bright meteor fireball was reported over Puerto Rico on the 17th Oct by the Society for Astronomy of the Caribbean (SAC), as relayed by local media on the 18th.

The event was described by Eddie Irizarry, vice president of the SAC:

"It was a space rock probably several feet in diameter disintegrating through the atmosphere,"

Meteor fireball recorded over Nitzanim, Israel

Sott.net
Mon, 19 Oct 2020 07:35 UTC

A meteor fireball (event 2020/5928) has been reported to the American Meteor Society (AMS) over Nitzanim, Israel on Sunday, October 18th 2020 around 16:01 UT.

A video was uploaded to the AMS website by Viktor V.

Meteor fireball booms over UK as residents describe 'the best I've ever seen'

Sean Martin
The Express (UK)
Mon, 12 Oct 2020 10:27 UTC

A FIREBALL which hit over northern Europe was so bright that one eye witness in Britain described it as one of the "best and biggest" they'd ever seen.

A meteor which entered the Earth's atmosphere was so bright it could be seen over a plethora of countries. Residents of southern England, the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Luxembourg were treated to the stunning phenomenon. More than 100 people reported the sighting to the International Meteor Organisation (IMO) as the fireball rained down on the evening of October 11.

Witnesses described seeing a bright streak of light booming through the clouds.

According to the IMO, the meteor entered the atmosphere above the Bay of Biscay, to the west of the French coast.

Two meteor fireballs over south of Spain on 11-12 Oct

Meteoroides.net
Mon, 12 Oct 2020 09:46 UTC

Two bright meteors overflew the south of Spain on October 11-12. The first of them was spotted on October 11 at about 21:37 local time (equivalent to 19:37 universal time). It was generated by a rock (a meteoroid) from an asteroid that hit the atmosphere at around 58,000 km/h. It began at an altitude of about 84 km over the province of Córdoba, and ended at a height of around 37 km.

The second fireball was recorded on October 12 at about 1:59 local time (equivalent to 23:59 universal time on October 11). It was generated by a meteoroid from a comet that hit the atmosphere at about 86,000 km/h. It began at an altitude of around 101 km over the province of Jaén, and ended at a height of about 73 km over the province of Granada.

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

Tunguska explosion in 1908 caused by asteroid grazing Earth says new theory

Astronomy
Fri, 09 Oct 2020 18:44 UTC

A new theory explains the mysterious explosion in Siberia, scientists say, suggesting Earth barely escaped a far greater catastrophe.

In the early morning of June 30, 1908, a massive explosion flattened entire forests in a remote region of Eastern Siberia along the Tunguska River. Curiously, the explosion left no crater, creating a mystery that has puzzled scientists ever since — what could have caused such a huge blast without leaving any remnants of itself?

Now Daniil Khrennikov at the Siberian Federal University in Russia and colleagues have published a new model of the incident that may finally resolve the mystery. Khrennikov and co say the explosion was caused by an asteroid that grazed the Earth, entering the atmosphere at a shallow angle and then passing out again into space.

"We argue that the Tunguska event was caused by an iron asteroid body, which passed through the Earth's atmosphere and continued to the near-solar orbit," they say. If they are correct, the theory suggests Earth escaped an even larger disaster by a hair's breadth.

First some background. Scientists have long speculated on the cause of the Tunguska impact. Perhaps the most widely discussed idea is that the explosion was the result of an icy body, such as a comet, entering the atmosphere. The ice then rapidly heated up and evaporated explosively in mid-air but without ever hitting the ground.

Meteor fireball lights up Mexican skies and rains fire on northern states

RT
Wed, 07 Oct 2020 18:55 UTC

Residents across northeastern Mexico were stunned when a green-hued fireball lit up the night sky on Tuesday. Authorities reported that the fiery debris caused localised bushfires in the vicinity.

Reports came flooding in from across the northern state of Nuevo Leon after the suspected meteorite streaked across the sky at approximately 22:14 local time on Tuesday night.

Eyewitness and doorbell cam videos captured the intensity of the fiery phenomenon as it burned bright through the darkness.