Meteorite Seen on Satellite Before Hitting Cuba

weather.com ^ | 02/02/2019 | By Sean Breslin

[Red Badger]

At a Glance

A meteorite landed in western Cuba on Friday afternoon.Residents in the town of Viñales said they spotted the object streaking across the sky.No injuries were reported, though there are unconfirmed reports of damage.The meteor was seen on satellite and radar before hitting Cuba.

Residents of a town in western Cuba said the area was rocked by what is believed to be a meteorite strike, and windows might have been blown out in some homes nearby. The meteor was seen on satellite and radar just before hitting Cuba.

"We’re receiving reports that a meteor was seen in the sky across the Florida Keys," the Key West office of the National Weather Service said in a tweet on Friday afternoon. "It appears that a meteorite impact occurred in western Cuba, near the town of Viñales, Pinar del Río, earlier this afternoon."

According to CNN reporter Patrick Oppmann, no injuries were reported in the wake of the incident.

(MORE: Deaths Confirmed After Violent Tornado Strikes Havana)

"We were coming from the center ... and we saw a ball of fire cross the sky," Spanish tourist Jesus Nicolas told the Associated Press in Havana. "Sure it was a meteorite and a very big one."

A team of scientists would travel to Pinar del Rio province to collect fragments of the meteorite to study them, Efren Jaimez Salgado, head of the Environmental Geology, Geophysics and Risks department of Cuba's Institute of Geophysics and Astronomy, told state newspaper Granma, as reported by the AP.

A town of about 27,000, Viñales is located in western Cuba, some 100 miles southwest of Havana.

The difference between a meteor and a meteorite is that a meteorite reaches the Earth's surface intact while a meteor may or may not vaporize. Meteors are often called shooting stars. Meteor Seen on Satellite and Radar

The meteorite was seen just moments before hitting the ground as a meteor on various forms of satellite and radar.

As the meteor crashed through our atmosphere, it was picked up on GOES-EAST's Geostationary Lightning Mapper as a quick flash over western Cuba. You can also see thunderstorms ongoing in the Gulf of Mexico at the time.

The meteor appears as a small blue gas pocket on satellite on one of GOES-EAST's other channels, too. What you're seeing here is the space rock giving off sulphur dioxide as it hits the atmosphere.

The meteor was also seen on the National Weather Service radar out of Key West, Florida as a small blip.

[Red Badger]

There were numerous smaller pieces found. The meteorite exploded in the air and rained down as burnt rocks ................

[backwoods-engineer]

As soon as I started reading your post, I KNEW it was a quote from “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress!” One of my favorite books of all time, and my favorite Heinlein work.

[sit-rep]

looks like Pyrite...

[sit-rep]

looks like Pyrite...

[chrisser]

In 2000 I was in Germany for my job and on weekends went over to the old Communist East Germany. There were still bullet holes in buildings from WWII.....................

I worked for a German hydraulic seal company after college (they folded after I left). Went over to Germany - must have been 1992 ish and was there the week of the unification. We got the day off and drove into East Germany.

Most surreal thing I ever experienced.

IIRC, we drove to Schwerin and Lubeck and one other city I can't recall.

What I remember most was the whole area smelled of coal. Reminded me of visiting Cleveland as a child in the 70s. Most of the buildings were a little shabby, but functional, except the churches. They were still the same rubble piles as they were after the war.

Lots of those Trabby's running around and plenty of East German soldiers still carrying their automatic weapons.

I'm glad I got to experience it, but it was a little weird.

[dfwgator]

In 2000 I was in Germany for my job and on weekends went over to the old Communist East Germany. There were still bullet holes in buildings from WWII.....................

Ditto for Warsaw.

[Red Badger]

But at the same time, there was building boom going on in Berlin, and there must have been a hundred super-cranes erected all across downtown [Zentrum]....................

[chrisser]

I was hoping we could go to Berlin, but my boss at the time felt that it would be inappropriate for us to be there as non-Germans on that day.

The small group of us had opinions both for and against, but since he was the boss, we didn't go.

Our HQ was in Hamburg and we did get to see that city, and we took a boat tour and saw the remains of the submarine pens which was cool. Hamburg is a pretty neat city. I wish I could have gotten back before the Muslim hordes arrived, although even then the Turks they had been importing were starting to be a problem.

[TnTnTn]

Looks like it fell into a pristine commie environment...

[budj]

FO OneFive to G-D: right 50, north 20; fire for effect; over.

[DUMBGRUNT]

Meteorite of Death

Yes! With a chain of satellites nudging the meteorites on to targets.

We must prevent a Death Meteorite gap!

[AppyPappy]

That can only be done by banning SUV’s.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Red Badger. No scale, but the larger one looks a lot like the Peekskill meteorite that cratered Michelle Knapp's car.

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Vinales meteorite Cuba site:youtube.com

Google

[firebrand]

A warning, since Cuba is joining forces with Israel’s enemies.

[Red Badger]

Knapp’s car was knapped by a rock??...................

[SunkenCiv]

It's ironic, 'r somethin'.

[dfwgator]

It's ironic, 'r somethin'.

It's like rain on your wedding day.....

[gleeaikin]

Nothing visible in the first video on the list.

[SunkenCiv]

Actually I'm a little surprised that Cubans are permitted to have video recording equipment, even in their phones.