Bright Bolide
Credit & Copyright: Howard Edin (Oklahoma City Astronomy Club)
Posted on 10/11/2008 2:01:36 PM PDT by sig226
Explanation: On September 30, a spectacular bolide or fireball meteor surprised a group of amateur astronomers enjoying dark night skies over the Oklahoma panhandle's Black Mesa State Park in the Midwestern US. Flashing past familiar constellations Taurus (top) and Orion, the extremely bright meteor was captured by a hillside camera overlooking the 2008 Okie-Tex Star Party. Astronomy enthusiast Howard Edin reports that he was looking in the opposite direction at the time, but saw the whole observing field light up and at first thought someone had turned on their car headlights. So far the sighting of a such a bright bolide meteor, produced as a space rock is vaporized hurtling through Earth's atmosphere, really is a matter of luck. But that could change. Earlier this week the discovery and follow-up tracking of tiny asteroid 2008 TC3 allowed astronomers to predict the time and location of its impact with the atmosphere. While no ground-based sightings of the fireball seem to have been reported, this first ever impact prediction was confirmed by at least some detections of an air burst and bright flash on October 7th over northern Sudan.
great pic!
I saw a bolide once out in south Louisiana.
Me and my dad were out star watching in a field north of our house, and it must have been during a small meteor shower... then suddenly the sky lit up BRIGHT AS DAY! (for like 3 seconds.) I could see the color of the tree lines and the field in front of us, and as quick as it flashed it was gone. Saw it streak on the north horizon heading straight down, exploding just above the tree line.
It’s something I’ll never forget.
Wasn’t that the Challenger?
We were reaching up toward Long Island from Cape Cod during the Perseids one year and I was trying to see the mainsail by starlight when suddenly it lit up or glowed.
I whipped around to see a large object breaking up in the sky. Biggest shooting star I ever saw — as I say, bright enough to light the sail with an orange glow for a millisecond.
I saw a bright flash in the sky last Sunday night. I was driving down my drive and saw a “shooting star” through the leaf canopy overhead! It has been ages since I’ve seen one. I let my granddaughter have my wish.
8-)
Early in 2006, I was driving to work while activated at Travis Air Force Base, very early in the morning (around 5am or so,) when I saw a huge bolide fly by. Coolest thing I have seen.
This happened wayyyy after the Challenger explosion... Besides, the Challenger was off the coast of Florida in the Atlantic... Where we were was near Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
I saw one as a kid, lasted for about 3 seconds, it was the most beautiful royal blue color and huge. Seen a couple of other big ones but nothing like that.
For that green glow in the photo there must have been some copper in the meteor.
Small asteroid about to burn up in sky over Africa
(above Sudan at 10:46 p.m. EDT Monday)
AP on Yahoo | 10/6/08 | AP
Posted on 10/06/2008 3:22:47 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2099017/posts
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