© Via YouTube/asteroid457
SOTT
SIGNS
OF THE
TIMES
OF THE
TIMES
Welcome to Sott.net
The World for People who Think
FireballsS
© Instagram/@rcadsgramA fireball is caused by a large object entering Earth's atmosphere.
"It was scary, because it came from the airport direction, and then we realised that it was probably space junk or a meteor," talkback caller Monica from Broome told ABC Radio.
"We spend a lot of nights with the kids lying out on trampolines watching shooting stars, but I've never seen anything like that."
The fireball was seen across a wide area of north western Australia just before 7pm on Tuesday.
Camped by the Fitzroy River, Cybil called ABC Radio to describe the awe-inspiring sight.
"Huge, big; it was the brightest thing I've ever seen. It was huge, white, massive. I've never seen anything so big in the sky," she said
About 130km south of Broome, Randal was camped on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
"It just seemed to come right up out of the sea, and then shot right across the Barn Hill camping area where we are," he said.
"My wife was sitting opposite me and she spun around, and we watched it disappear over inland somewhere.
"It was just so, so bright. We were wondering whether one of those missiles had come down from North Korea.
"We've seen shooting stars before, but this just outdid anything."
© Otago Times
Minutes after the bright orange ball flashed across the sky about 6.30pm, hundreds of people from Dunedin to Nelson took to social media to report having seen it.
Former resident superintendent of Canterbury University's Mt John Observatory Alan Gilmore said the ball of fire had all of the characteristics of a re-entry of debris from a spacecraft, or piece of equipment which had been orbiting Earth.
"It is not a meteor, I'm certain of that. It took too long to go across the sky.''
© YouTube/Bramon - Brazilian Meteor Observation Network (screen capture)
(translated by Google)
Comment: Other meteor fireballs observed over Brazil recently include:
14 June 2016: Meteor fireball filmed over the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil
12 June 2016: Bright meteor fireball streaks over Sao Paulo, Brazil
29 & 30 May 2016: Two meteor fireballs illuminate Brazilian skies on two subsequent nights
24 May 2016: Meteor fireball filmed over Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
© Morocco World News
Large meteorites are not decelerated by the atmosphere, so may create impact structures or "shatter cones" when they land. Meteorites are not usually found at impact sites because they are molten or vaporized upon impact, and they are rapidly eroded or broken down by Earth's environment.
This particular site, outside the Village of Agoudal in the High Atlas Mountains, had meteorite fragments at the site, and it was assumed that the meteorite fragments created the impact structure. The new research, which was published by Professor Hasnaa Chennaoui Aoudjehane and the research team in the science journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science on June 2016, claims that the impact structure was already present when a second meteor hit the same spot, leaving behind the fragments.
The estimated diameter of the original impact structure is between 1 and 3 km. Scientists used the average rate of erosion in the High Atlas Mountains to estimate how old the structures are. Based on how much the structure wore down over time, the impact structure is probably 1.25 to 3.75 million years old. This makes the impact structure much older than the meteorite fragments found in the same site.
Discoveries like this can help scientists better understand the impact of a meteor falling to Earth. Research will continue to determine how life in the region was affected at the time of the impact.
The event was brighter than the full Moon and was produced by an alpha-Capricornid meteoroid.
© A GliksonImpact spherules.
Tiny glass beads called spherules, found in north-western Australia were formed from vaporised material from the asteroid impact, said Dr Andrew Glikson from The Australian National University (ANU).
"The impact would have triggered earthquakes orders of magnitude greater than terrestrial earthquakes, it would have caused huge tsunamis and would have made cliffs crumble," said Dr Glikson, from the ANU Planetary Institute.
"Material from the impact would have spread worldwide. These spherules were found in sea floor sediments that date from 3.46 billion years ago."
The asteroid is the second oldest known to have hit the Earth and one of the largest.
Dr Glikson said the asteroid would have been 20 to 30 kilometres across and would have created a crater hundreds of kilometres wide.
About 3.8 to 3.9 billion years ago the moon was struck by numerous asteroids, which formed the craters, called mare, that are still visible from Earth
"Exactly where this asteroid struck the earth remains a mystery," Dr Glikson said.
© Michael HuniewiczMauritania night sky
The bolide was detected on Monday 27 June at 10:02UTC, possessed a velocity(x) of -29.1 km/s or 18.2 miles/sec (65,475 mph) and was reported at an altitude of 33km (20 miles).
Background Situation
New asteroid discoveries are currently in somewhat of a lull, with only 10 new discoveries in the <0.5AU range within the last 2 weeks (Period "M"). The numbers of new <0.5AU discoveries have been in decline since period "G" (Apr1-Apr15), with a similar trend for <5LD asteroids since period "E" (Mar1-Mar15).
2016 MA was the only <5LD asteroid discovered during period "M" and made its close-approach on June 19 at a distance of 2.6LD. New period "N" begins tomorrow (July 1).
So far, in 2016, there have been 29,849 new <0.5AU discoveries and 211 <10LD discoveries.
(Source for all stats: eissco.co.uk).
During the month of June 2016, 2 new comets were discovered and there was 1 comet recovery. A small asteroid, 2016 HO3, has been discovered in an orbit around the sun that keeps it as a constant companion of Earth, and it will remain so for centuries to come. On June 2nd a small asteroid (1-3 meters wide) hit Earth's atmosphere and exploded over Arizona. Amateur astronomer and comet discoverer Rolf G. Meier died on June 26th, 2016 after a short battle with cancer. "Current comet magnitudes" & "Daily updated asteroid flybys" pages are available at the top of this blog (or just click on the underline text here).
The dates below refer to the date of issuance of CBET (Central Bureau Electronic Telegram) which reported the official news & designations.
Comet Discoveries
June 05 Discovery of C/2016 K1 (LINEAR)
June 24 Discovery of C/2016 M1 (PANSTARRS)
Comet Recoveries
June 06 Recovery of P/2010 N1 (WISE) as P/2016 GE_216
The dates below refer to the date of issuance of CBET (Central Bureau Electronic Telegram) which reported the official news & designations.
Comet Discoveries
June 05 Discovery of C/2016 K1 (LINEAR)
June 24 Discovery of C/2016 M1 (PANSTARRS)
© Remanzacco Blogspot
June 06 Recovery of P/2010 N1 (WISE) as P/2016 GE_216
© Wikimedia CommonsJustinian's Raging Bulls.
In a wonderful YouTube video Dr. Ruth Dwyer examines the Ravenna Mosaics and discovers the mosaics clearly depict "debris from space impacting the Earth".The extreme weather events of 535 - 536 were the most severe and protracted short-term episodes of cooling in the Northern Hemisphere in the last 2,000 years.
The event is thought to have been caused by an extensive atmospheric dust veil, possibly resulting from a large volcanic eruption in the tropics, and/or debris from space impacting the Earth.
Its effects were widespread, causing unseasonal weather, crop failures, and famines worldwide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_weather_events_of_535%E2%80%93536The Plague of Justinian (541 - 542) was a pandemic that afflicted the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, especially its capital Constantinople, the Sassanid Empire, and port cities around the entire Mediterranean Sea.
One of the greatest plagues in history, this devastating pandemic resulted in the deaths of an estimated 25 million (initial outbreak) to 50 million (two centuries of recurrence) people.
Recent investigations relate this severe plague epidemic to extreme weather events of 535 - 536 considered as an example of volcanic winter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_of_Justinian
Comment: Actually, electrically charged meteors CAN travel very slowly. AND, disintegration - shedding - is quite common.