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Meteor fireball reported over Cape Town, South Africa

meteor cape town south africa
A bright meteor exploded over Cape Town, South Africa around 18:05 UTC on January 16, 2019 (20:05 local time). Bright light produced by the object was followed by very loud sound and ground shaking.

The American Meteor Society has so far received 6 reports about this event. If you witnessed it, please fill out this form.

People from all over the Cape, from Hermanus to Franschhoek, Cape Town and all the way to the Swartland, have been talking about the 'massive flash of flight' that appeared suddenly in the twilight sky, The Citizen reports.

According to witnesses, this bright object was followed by a loud bang that shook the ground and rattled houses and windows.

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Giant fireball caught on home security cameras in Michigan

Fireball over MI
© WOODTV/Dan Klosterman
Last week, reports from states all over the Midwest started pouring in about a brilliantly bright meteor that streaked across the sky in the middle of the night.

Dan Kloosterman's home security camera in Byron Center was facing in just the right direction to catch the glorious sight at 3:10 a.m. Friday. In Plainfield Township, Christine Ford's security camera got the image from another angle.

The video verifies several reports filed with the Amercian Meteor Society of a fireball meteor that night.
AMS report
© WoodTV/AMS
According to the society, a meteor is considered a "fireball" if it is exceptionally bright, or as bright as the planet Venus, in the night sky. The video submitted to 24 Hour News 8 is exceptionally bright.

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Meteor fireball lights up night sky over Edmonton, Alberta

Fireball over Edmonton
© Fred Thornhill/ReutersSome stargazers in the Edmonton area reported seeing a large fireball streak across the sky Thursday night.
A few Edmonton-area skywatchers reported seeing a huge fireball light up the sky above northern Alberta Thursday night.

Dozens of people took to social media to report that a meteor was spotted around 10:45 p.m. above the Edmonton skyline.

"I was looking out my balcony when I saw a bright ball of light flying through the air," wrote one witness on Reddit.

"It eventually disappeared/broke up mid flight!"

Six people from Edmonton to Crossfield, Alta., filed reports of fireball sightings to the American Meteor Society on Thursday evening.

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Dash cam captures meteor fireball flying over southern British Columbia

Fireball over southern BC
An Okanagan man had the video to prove that what he saw in the sky over Okanagan Lake on Monday was more than just a tall tale.

Jeremiah Hyslop was on his way home to West Kelowna just after midnight when he saw a flash of light streak across the sky.

"At the time I actually thought it was an airplane going down because it was that size and shape," Hyslop said.

When the streak of light quickly grew larger, he knew he was watching a meteor.


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Hundreds report seeing bright meteor fireball over East Coast, US

US East coast fireball
© SOURCE/AMERICAN METEOR SOCIETYFireball seen from West New York, New Jersey, on Jan. 9, 2018. The bright meteor was seen from New York down to North Carolina.
If you saw a giant ball of burning light fall toward Earth this morning along the East Coast, you're not alone.

Multiple reports of a meteor have surfaced over the course of the day Wednesday, ranging north from New York through New Jersey, Pennsylvania and south to Virginia and North Carolina.

The best available video of the burning object was captured by a camera in West New York, New Jersey.


Comment: The American Meteor Society (AMS) has received over 450 reports about a fireball seen over CT, DE, MD, MS, NC, NJ, NY, PA, SC and VA on Wednesday, January 9th 2019 around 11:34 UT.


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'Green flash' spotted in the skies above Nottinghamshire, UK

Fireball - stock image
Stock image
A mystery 'green flash' was spotted over Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire on Tuesday afternoon.

Dozens of people took to social media to talk about the unidentified flying object in the sky between 4pm and 5pm.

"I've just seen a bright light streak across the sky going Northwards in Beeston," said one user on the Beeston Updated page. "It wasn't a firework or aircraft."

Debbie Pickard, of Ilkeston in Derbyshire, said she saw "three flashes of green light" as she looked out of her office window during the evening on January 8.

The 37-year-old principal added: "It was as if something shot through the houses. It did not look very high and it looked like it was travelling horizontally.

"I checked the range that drones could travel, as I heard a lot of talk about it in Beeston, which is a good few miles away, so it couldn't have been that.

Binoculars

Mysterious 'explosion' heard in southern Hertfordshire, UK

Mystery boom in Potters Bar, UK
© pbhistory.co.uk
Described by some as sounding like an "explosion", it was heard by residents in Cranborne Road, Southgate Road, Sunnybank Road, Oakmere and Little Heath, with one person claiming it even reached St Albans.

A police spokeswoman told the Welwyn Hatfield Times that they had received no official reports last night.

Some people claimed on social media that it may have been a sonic boom, but a Ministry of Defence spokesman confirmed no operations were being held in the area last night.

Members of the public also said they had spotted a cloud of smoke near Hatfield Business Park, but it is not known whether this was anything to do with the loud bang.

Alarm Clock

No word on what caused mysterious 'boom' heard, felt across northern Utah

Mystery boom in Utah
© Fox13
People across northern Utah reported feeling and hearing what seemed like a sonic boom Saturday.

The boom happened around 11 a.m. and was especially felt in Ogden and surrounding cities.

Calls and emails flowed into the Fox 13 newsroom asking what caused the boom.

Most felt it was a sonic boom caused by jets or other aircraft at Hill Air Force Base.

We checked with Hill though, and they say it wasn't them.

One resident in South Ogden says he heard and felt two separate sonic booms, but that they were different than the ones caused by jets at HAFB.

"It was like those jets except more intense," Jeff Parker said. "It was like a cross between a sonic boom and an earthquake tremor."


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Oumuamua data reveals intriguing possibilities

Oumuamua
© M. Kornmesser/European Southern Observatory
Today, physicist Eugene Bagashov concludes his remarkable three-part analysis of Oumuamua, the mysterious object which is thought to be our solar system's first interstellar traveler. In previous episodes, Eugene has explored several enigmas, including the puzzle of the object's mysterious acceleration as it moved away from the Sun. While this episode was in production, Eugene made a stunning discovery that may provide an essential pathway to understanding Oumuamua's trajectory. As Eugene explains, this discovery relates directly to measurements of the interstellar magnetic field.

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Astronomer says meteor fireball sighted over New Zealand the brightest he's ever seen - UPDATE: Space Junk reentry

fireball
© Richard Kern
A bright fireball has been spotted shooting across New Zealand skies.

Kiwis across the country have reported witnessing the event which occurred about 9pm on Saturday.

Astronomer Dr Grant Christie, who has been working in astronomy for over 50 years, told 1 NEWS he has never seen a fireball so bright.

He said it appears the fireball burned out about 100km above Earth.


Comment:

Update: According to the American Meteor Society this was not a meteor fireball but a Space Junk reentry - almost certainly the reentry of Kosmos 2430, a defunct Russian Early Warning satellite.