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Fireballs
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It’s possible that other solar systems are flinging comets into interstellar space, and we might be able to see them in the next few years as technology improves.
It’s possible that other solar systems are flinging comets into interstellar space, and we might be able to see them in the next few years as technology improves.
The first, dubbed 'Oumuamua, was spotted on 19 October 2017.
This one, named 2I/Borisov, was discovered on 30 August 2019 by amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov of Nauchnij, Crimea, using a home-built 65-centimeter telescope.
It was initially thought to be an ordinary comet, says Davide Farnocchia of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, Pasadena, California.
But a week of observations by amateur and professional astronomers revealed that it was on an orbit that must have originated outside the Solar System and is now in the process of slingshotting around the Sun before heading back into interstellar space. (The "2I" in its name means it is "interstellar object number 2.")
Already, it is proving to be quite different from its predecessor. To begin with, it's much larger. 'Oumuamua (now officially called 1I/'Oumuamua) was a cigar-shaped object, only 800 meters long. 2I/Borisov is probably several kilometers in diameter.
© YouTube/ UK Meteor Observation Network
According to eyewitnesses, London has been illuminated by a meteor, with some of them managing to record the dramatic footage.
© Brodie Morgan
The fireball is captured in mobile phone footage, taken in northern Tasmania.
The fireball is captured in mobile phone footage, taken in northern Tasmania.
The object flew across the horizon just before 8:30pm (AEST), with videos being shared by excited eyewitnesses in both states.
Adrian from Mole Creek said he saw a vivid light and heard what "sounded like thunder".
"I was outside and it was all nice and dark and suddenly the backyard lit up, like a helicopter going over with a spotlight, quite low," he said.
Dominic McAlinden said he covered his ears, expecting an explosion.
"Night turned to day, and a blue-and-white streak turned red and orange as it burnt up," he said.
Victor was behind the wheel on the Bass Highway in northern Tasmania when "just out of the corner of my eye to the east I saw what appeared to be like a skyrocket shooting down to the ground".
Hazel, in Penguin on the northern Tasmania coast said "it lit the whole town up".
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"So I was putting her down for a nap and I swear it like shook our entire house," Jacqueline Hawtin said. "I was scared."
This is normally a quiet neighborhood, but a loud mysterious boom sent people into a panic.
"I called my husband," Hawtin said. "I called my neighbor."
Hawtin hurried out the door with her young daughter, Harley.
"I looked over here to make sure no one hit the garage or anything," Hawtin said.
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The noise was heard by people in and around Ullapool at about 20:00.
British Geological Survey has ruled out an earthquake and the RAF said it was not a sonic boom caused by one of its jets.
The UK Meteor Network said it was possible the sound was caused by a fireball, but it had received no reports of one from Scotland.
It also said it was unconnected to meteors spotted from England at 20:17 and 20:45.
Reports received by BBC Scotland News online on Tuesday suggested the bang was heard near Ullapool in the north west Highlands, further north at Drumbeg as well as Kiltarlity near Inverness.
© Umit Inanc
He said he looked up into the sky at around 10.10pm and saw the meteor flying through the sky.
Umit said: "It was amazingI just went out for a cigarette and the next minute I saw it shooting across the sky.
"I'm a bit into astronomy so I was 100% sure it was a meteor, which means it will dissolve before it hits the ground."
"It it the first time I have seen anything like that - it was quite spooky but nice to see as well."
© YouTube/AMS/Anna Morris
© YouTube/AMS/Alessandro R.
A car dashcam recorded a fireball streaking across the night sky in North Carolina.
An ABC11 viewer recorded the video Thursday night while driving on Raleigh Road in Wilson toward Airport Boulevard.
In the top right of the screen, a bright light can be seen entering the frame and streaking toward the horizon for about three seconds.
Comment: This report is the third 'loud boom' reported in Scotland within the past few weeks.