Texas Fireball

Last night April 14 a fireball streaked across the sky in Milwaukee Wisconsin that could be seen in six surrounding states. I’ve received reports about the sighting from Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio so I figured I’d give a little insight. Between January and now, meteor shower activity is very minimal and right now a usually very weak minor meteor shower known as the Gama Virginids could be responsible for this fireball or it could just be a random sporadic event.

The Lyrids Meteor Shower starts today and will be most active in the morning hours of April 22nd. When one sees a meteor or fireball it doesn’t necessarily have to be associated with a meteor shower. There are millions of pieces of debris that hit the Earth’s atmosphere on a daily basis and very few are witnessed. This particular event happened at a good time where it could be viewed by a lot of people. This meteor was very bright and even though I’ve had people on the site commenting that there was a massive explosion in the sky, the meteoroid has been reported by NASA to be about 3 feet wide, which is still pretty big considering that when you watch a meteor shower most of the meteors are the size of a grain of sand or as big as a pea.  Meteors will usually disintegrate before hitting Earth, but there’s always a chance they can reach Earth.  I’m not sure if this one reached the ground, but if it did, the pieces would be very small.

Fireballs and meteors are spectacular events, they are pieces of the beginnings of the universe, and I’m always envious of anyone lucky enough to see them. I enjoy reading your stories and comments so feel free to ask questions or just post your sightings.  The next meteor shower, the Lyrids peaks April 22 where you may see about 18 to 22 meteors per hour. They probably won’t be as big or spectacular but it’s always worth a look. It’s free to join the mailing list on the right side of the page and keep your head up.

- Meteor Mark

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It has been concluded that the recent fireball that was observed over Texas was not a piece of the recent collision of two satellites orbiting Earth. A rare occurrence, however the object was simply a natural meteor, also known as a fireball. Most meteors tend to be made of non-metallic minerals that break apart easily from ram pressure when entering the atmosphere. This meteor was a special treat to observers because it was also accompanied by a sonic boom; this is likely to suggest that the meteor was made of a metallic substance. In order for a fireball to create a sonic boom it must reach the Earth’s stratosphere, which is generally thirty miles above the Earth’s surface, and be at least the size of a basketball.

This is an update to my previous post entitled: Fireball – Not Part of Meteor Shower

You can bookmark the site to found out more about upcoming meteor showers and meteor facts and also visit our MeteorBlog Shop for cool gifts for you or your friends. In the meantime keep your head up and enjoy the site and the next meteor shower will be coming soon.

- Meteor Mark

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A Beehive of Satellites

It is not a meteor shower? There is little major meteor shower activity until April, but recently over daytime skies in Texas (from Austin, to Houston and as far north as Plano) a fireball was seen plummeting toward Earth. It has yet to be determined if it was debris from a recent satellite collision between a non-working Russian satellite and an active US satellite over Siberia on Tuesday February 10th Scientists believe that the collision has created about one thousand tennis ball-sized debris particles, but are virtually unsure of the exact sizes. This adds to the many already present pieces of space junk that orbit around our Earth.

If the debris would enter Earth’s atmosphere it could produce spectacular fireballs in the sky and most would disintegrate from the ram pressure created by such an event. The real threat is to the current working satellites that orbit Earth and possibly high altitude airplanes. I personally believe that this debris is unlikely to hit the Earth. The likelihood that the debris will run into other spacecraft is still uncertain.

Currently the US Department of Defense monitors over eighteen thousand objects that orbit our Earth and debris from this collision could stay in space for years. There is a possibility that some debris will enter the atmosphere at any time and cause meteoric displays in the sky.

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This is a confirmed report that the Canadian Meteor that lit up the Sakatchewan sky did in fact hit Earth. Meteorites have been found in an 8-mile vicinity of Battle River in Lloydminster, Canada. The nearly ten ton asteroid that entered our atmosphere and blazed across the night sky as a marvelous fireball exploded from the immense energy and left fragments (meteorites) as large as footballs scattered across the land.

I will add more updates in the comments section of this post. Feel free to add any news that you deem necessary, your comments are always welcome and your questions are always appreciated.

MeteoritesUSA.com – Meteorite Hunting, Collecting, News And Information Blog.

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See the Canada Fireball Video Here

Your comments are always welcome on the site.

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leonids-meteor-image-fireball

A Leonids Fireball plummets toward the Mediterranean Sea in a brilliant photo taken by Tunc Tezel over the shoreline of southeast Antayla, Turkey. One of the finest meteor storms ever witnessed was nearly 175 years ago over the United States. For the duration of almost four hours ahead of daylight on November 13, 1833, the skies were overflowing with thousands of meteors each minute. The lower picture is an artist’s portrayal of the events over Niagra Falls. The comet Tempel-Tuttle causes this annual grand display of meteors and fireballs. The Tempel-Tuttle Comet’s elliptical orbit of our Solar System is approximately 33 years long.

Artist Rendition of the Meteor Storm Over Niagra Falls in 1833

The Leonids Meteor Shower is the end result of dust that may be from the lane traveled by the comet fifty or hundreds of years ago when the Earth passes directly through the path of the comet’s dust each year in November. The Leonids Meteor Showers are accountable for the contemporary analysis of Meteor Storms. Meteor Storms are defined as huge eruptions of meteors over an extended period of time, where meteor shower outbursts are only few a few minutes during normal monthly meteor activity. Through their reign, Meteor Storms can turn out ten or more meteors per second, literally filling the sky with light. Meteor Showers are exceptionally extraordinary and perhaps one of the most exhilarating events of a lifetime.  I welcome your comments and hope you enjoy the upcoming shower.  You may witness meteor shower outbursts, but you never know, a meteor storm could be coming to your area!

Keep Your Head Up!

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Where to Look - Taurids Meteor Shower November 5th

The Taurids are commonly known as the Halloween Fireballs for their yearly October and November activity. The meteor shower is the result of remnants from the the Comet Encke.  This year the best viewing date will be November 5th and are part of the Southern Taurids Stream (November 12 Is the Peak of The Northern Taurids Shower) The Taurids are commonly slow moving meteors that blaze across the sky in pale orange colors. There are no guarantees when it comes to meteor showers, but I have heard information that there may be a few meteor swarms and fireball patches dropping into an atmosphere near you. Lately, I have noticed a lot of meteor fireball activity being posted on the news in places such as New Mexico, Canada, and Australia. So having said all of this, when and where do you look? You can look toward the constellation Taurus for a start anytime now until November 10th, but as I have always stated meteors can be seen just about anywhere in the sky and I can assure that if a Fireball blasts off, you may never forget it. Please comment here with your November fireball sightings and always, Keep Your Head Up!

The post Taurids Meteor Shower – The “Halloween Fireballs” Will Peak in November 2008 appeared first on Meteor Showers.

Large Fireballs can create a sonic boom that wouldn’t be heard until many seconds later and definitely after the meteor has disappeared. But what about buzzing, crinkling or crackling noises? When a meteor wallops the Earth’s atmosphere, it ionizes the air around it and creates a glowing trail of plasma. As the plasma cools, the electrons and ions create a vibration. They are called VLF vibrations and they are capable of transmitting electromagnetic waves over hundreds and hundreds of kilometers. These “sounds” aren’t necessarily heard by human ears but can vibrate objects like wires, aluminum objects, or something close to you. This is a form of low frequency radiation that travels much faster than the speed of sound and actually at the speed of light. During certain meteor showers, some people have reported hearing distant FM radio stations broadcast over a pocket radio.

So we can surmise that, Yes – Meteors Do Make a Sound! I will be researching this topic and including more about this next month, your comments and input are always welcome and by the way the November Leonids are notorious for making mysterious noises.

- Meteor Mark

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You can view an article on the Orionids Meteor Shower of 2008 by following the link.

The post Orionids Meteor Shower of 2008 Has a Sidekick appeared first on Meteor Showers.

This was an excellent opportunity for scientists to test the accuracy of new celestial object tracking methods in the event that a larger object was to threaten the Earth. There have been few witnesses to the event because of the remoteness of where the meteor fell.

MeteoritesUSA.com – Meteorite Hunting, Collecting, News And Information Blog.

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