Meteor News-SpaceWeather.com Update...Dec. 12, 2010...GEMINID METEOR SHOWER

The Geminid meteor shower peaks this year on Dec. 13th and 14th.  Forecasters say meteor rates could exceed 100 per hour for observers under dark rural skies.  For best results, start your meteor watch on Monday night, Dec. 13th, around midnight.  Keep an eye out for Geminids until sunrise on Tuesday, Dec. 14th. There's no special trick to seeing the Geminids.  Bundle up for maximum warmth, go outside, lie down and look up. Geminids can appear in any part of the sky, but all their tails will point back to the radiant in the constellation Gemini.  Check http://spaceweather.com

 for updates, images and a sky map.

First UK Meteor Fireball Video Posted...UK Fireball Video Dec. 8, 2010...

The first video to emerge following the appearance of a bright meteor/fireball over the UK on Dec. 8, 2010 shows no apparent detonation. Witnesses closer to the meteor's path however report fragmentation toward the end of lighted flight. In the video below, posted on Youtube by "johnnythefixer", the fireball becomes visible just right of top center and lasts approx. 5 to 6 seconds. "This is the meteor that flew across the sky on 8th December. I caught it on the camera in my car. I had just driven past Ken Dodd's house, and noticed it shooting across the sky". Video was shot from Merseyside, Liverpool, England. at 17:35 UTC.

Strange doings coming to Tucson's skies...12/10/10...

 Arizona Daily Star Arizona Daily Star Posted: Friday, December 10, 2010 12:00 am

The Geminid meteor shower, so named because the "shooting stars" appear to emanate from the constellation Gemini, will be at its peak in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
Observatories on Mount Lemmon and Kitt Peak have public programs beginning...(more)...

U.S. Military in Talks to Share Fireball Data...12/10/10

By Leonard David, SPACE.com’s Space Insider Columnist
posted: 10 December 2010 04:24 pm ET
For decades, the U.S. Department of Defense has operated classified spacecraft loaded with high-tech gear to carry out a range of reconnaissance duties. But the satellites have also spotted the high-altitude explosions of natural fireballs that routinely dive into the Earth's atmosphere, and talks are under way to offer...(more)...

Long Sporadic Meteor Captured by Santa Fe NM All Sky Camera 12/09/10...

Thomas Ashcraft of Santa Fe New Mexico reviewed last night's Sandia All Sky Camera captures and found he'd recorded a long duration bright meteor...but it wasn't a Geminid.
"The radio reflection was about one minute long" says Ashcraft. "It must have been a beautiful sight to see". A movie/composite image can be viewed at http://www.heliotown.com/FBns20101209_1106utHE_Ashcraft.mp4

Possible meteor sighting 12/09/10 between Regina and Yorkton...Canadian man sees bright, blue flash of light in the sky

Posted December 9, 2010 - 2:25pm Dino Durighello, who was driving between Regina and Yorkton on Highway #10 Thursday morning, believes the bright, blue flash of light he saw streak through the sky was a meteor.
Durighello explains that he was about 50 km outside of Regina at 10:30 a.m. when he saw the flash of llight.
“All of a sudden from the top of my windshield I see this...(more)...

Update to 12/03/10 Oklahoma Bolide...

New video of the Oklahoma bolide 12/03/10 has been provided to ELP ALLSKY by Kevin P. of Hawley TX. Kevin's camera has a roughly 40 degree field of view and is pointed north. Image center is directly toward Oklahoma City. The fireball can be seen in the lower right corner of the video. Below the video is a composite image showing heading and bearings.

 

West Texas Meteor Sighting 12/08/10...Marathon TX

9:20 AM Dec 8, 2010 Rob Dean E-mails: Traveling between Marathon, Tx and Ft. Stockton, Tx, my husband and I saw a brilliant shooting star/fireball about 8:30-9:00a.m. on Dec.8,2010.  It appeared overhead to our north  and faded to the northeast.  It was brilliant white with a long trail that appeared to be dripping blobs of material behind it.

This was a daytime event. If you saw this meteor please post here. Thank you. ELPALLSKY

British Columbia Fireball Reports Coming in to ELPALLSKY 12/08/10...

Two reports of a fireball south of Quesnel British Columbia, Canada have come in to ELPALLSKY. Reports are as follow:

[Dec 8 2010, 8:51 PM Guest459 (guest): Saw a bright blue meteor spiral to earth on an approximate 45 degree angle just south of Quesnel, British Columbia]
 Dec 8 2010, 7:45 PM M. Smith E-mails: Hi, Last night Dec.8/10 at approximately 7:30pm I saw a large bright orange/green meteor fireball I guess south of Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada.  It was SW of us and moved west & then disappeared.  Did anyone else see this?  M.Smith, Quesnel, BC.

The BC Meteor Network has been notified however, allsky cameras there were obscured by bad weather. If you observed this event please post here, then log a report at http://www.bcmeteors.net

BREAKING METEOR NEWS...UK Fireball 12/08/10... Reports Coming in to ELP ALLSKY...

Spectacular meteor 'fireball' explosion over Britain leaves stargazers buzzing ahead of Geminid space shower.

9:30PM GMT 08 Dec 2010...A dramatic meteor “fireball” exploded over Britain on Wednesday night, creating a spectacular light show the length of the country ahead of the Geminid space shower. 

FULL STORY FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH  

 

Meteor fireball spotted in skies over Britain

Stargazers throughout the UK report seeing a meteor-like streak of light in the darkened skies thought to be a rare meteor fireball... 

FULL STORY FROM THE BBC

POSTS TO ELP ALLSKY:
Dec 8 2010, 11:07 AM

And (guest): just saw a bright white/blue/purple meteor with a long orange/yellow trail over newcastle upon tyne, uk

 

Dec 8 2010, 11:58 AM

Guest919 (guest): jus seem i fireball go across melton mowbray united kingdom... it as quite low and went really fast... trail of like fire behind it!! any way of knowing what it was at all?

Dec 8 2010, 12:37 PM

Guest521 (guest): Saw fireball just before it had a tail which broke up as it sped NNE to SSW over Glasgow at 1735hrs. It was the comparative size of the Moon which was low in the west at the time

Dec 8 2010, 1:26 PM

Guest366 (guest): I saw it over Sheffield at 17:35 GMT. Very impressive.

Dec 8 2010, 2:04 PM

Guest995 (guest): Saw it 17.35 GMT Dudley England travelling SW. Could it be 1st stage of Falcon 9 rocket re-entering atmosphere?

Meteor Report...Iowa Meteor/Fireball...

posted to Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News...

Dec 7 2010, 8:44 PM Guest66 (guest): Saw a bright light in the east sky around an hour ago in western iowa, turned green before it faded, any ideas?

Dec 7 2010, 11:10 PM

Guest838 (guest): I saw a large green sparkly meteor slowly shoot over northeastern Iowa and also was curious if anyone else had seen it!

ELPALLSKY: If you saw this meteor, please leave a post in my chat box, then go to 

http://amsmeteors.org/fireball2/form.html

and log your report.

Bright Meteor East Of Yuma AZ...

Dec 7 2010, 10:32 PM Guest204 (guest) Posts:

Just saw bright orange meteor in low eastern horizon about 20 minutes agoIn Yuma AZLasted 3 to 5 seconds, large and long orange taistarted then stopped, then main portion, thought at first it was a flair from Naval gunnery range, but too large and flew in wrong directionshad me stunned watching it at first.

ELPALLSKY: If you saw this event please post in the chat box to the left. Arizona and Northwestern Mexico all sky stations please check your cameras for this event. Thank you!

Meteor News...Early Geminid Meteor Over Northwest Mexico...

Dec. 7, 2010 Hermosillo Mexico: Sandia allsky meteor camera operator Salvador Aguirre posts this early Geminid meteor captured by his camera in Hermosillo, Mexico. The orange-ish color enhances contrast to better show detail in the trail. The annual Geminid Meteor Shower is officially underway and promises should offer even casual observers a nice bright "shooting star" or two this month. Compare the star chart below with the composite image beneath. No question...a Geminid! Nice work, Doctor.

Asteroid Warning System Advocated by Scientist...

A Week's Warning of Asteroid Strike Would Be Simple, Scientist Says
By Charles Q. Choi
SPACE.com Contributorposted: 03 December 2010
09:23 am ET

An early warning system that could give Earth a week's notice or more before a space rock destroyed a city would cost only $1 million per observatory, its leading proponent suggests. Given current technologies, this lead time would not be enough to mount a mission to deflect the incoming object, but...(more)...

NASA..."Geminid Meteor Shower Defies Explanation"

A Geminid fireball explodes over the Mojave Desert in 2009. Credit: Wally Pacholka / AstroPics.com / TWAN.


Dec. 6, 2010:  The Geminid meteor shower, which peaks this year on Dec. 13th and 14th, is the most intense meteor shower of the year. It lasts for days, is rich in fireballs, and can be seen from almost any point on Earth. It's also NASA astronomer Bill Cooke's favorite meteor shower—but not for any of the reasons listed above.
"The Geminids are my favorite," he explains, "because they defy explanation."...(more)...

Meteor News...Best Meteor Shower of 2010 Arrives Starting Dec. 13...

Slower-moving Geminids won't require binoculars or a telescope to see... 

What should be the best meteor shower of 2010 will occur beginning on the evening of Monday, Dec. 13.

Like most meteor showers, the Geminids will be at their best after midnight (early on the morning of Dec. 14), when the Earth is heading...(more)...

"Mystery" Fireball Over Atlanta GA ?...Is No Mystery !

I'll preface this story with a few facts relevant to this "sighting". 1...The sun is nearly at it's lowest point in the sky for the season. 2...This "event" occured close to sunset in Atlanta. 3...toward the end of the video, available by going to http://www.ajc.com/video?bcpid=97471435001&bclid=1717763711&bctid=700744798001 another aircraft can be seen entering the frame from right to left looking very much like the object in question. So...without delay and considering all the above factors, ELPALLSKY can say, without a doubt, this is a man-made aircraft. Please note the "firey" appearance and slow movement in the video and use it for future reference. Full story available at http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/mystery-object-streaks-across-768562.html

Large Oklahoma Meteor?...Just hours after Large Colorado Bolide Of 12/03/10.....

Reports are coming in to ELPALLSKY about another large, bright meteor...this time over Oklahoma and just 4 1/2 hours after another large and bright fireball wowed Colorado residents. The OK event was visible in AR and KS as well. Reports are as follows...

Dec 5 2010, 8:57 AM sandra2646 Reports: I saw a green light falling vertically around 11pm in Edmond, Oklahoma as I was driving home. I thought it was part of a flare or firework it was bright and it faded before it hit the ground. It definitely looked like it was in our atmosphere. My husband also saw the same light.

Mtn. View, Arkansas 11:00 p.m CST 3DEC2010

Guest305 (guest): I live near Mtn. View, Arkansas late last night about 11:00 p.m. I was loading wood in furnace and looked in the western sky and saw a huge green fireball it fell down till it dissapered behind tree line it was by far the biggest shooting star i've ever seen.

Seminole, Oklahoma - green glow falling from sky Dec. 3, 2010.

Lyndon Davis E-mails: A friend and I were sitting on the porch of a hunting cabin, far away from any light sources.  I saw a very large greenish fireball fall sometime around 11:00pm (10:47pm if I recall correctly).  I was in Southeastern Kansas  (approximately 15 miles east of Coffeyville, KS) and the object was to the south, falling in a straight vertical line to the ground.  We did not hear any noise, but it was bright enough to cast shadows for approximately 3 seconds and cause my friend (who was looking in the opposite direction) to turn around and look due to the intensity of the light.

It had an appearance somewhat like a flare.  I did not see any trail or debris coming from it.  It was, by far, the largest thing I have ever seen fall from the sky.

Kaysi E-mails: My name is Kavysania Kinslow I am in Oklahoma City, OK. I witnessed this same thing last night at about 11:00 from across the street from the State Capitol Building, in Oklahoma City. Do you have any idea what this may have been. Would please keep me informed. Thank you for your post and time.

Kaysi

Meteor News...Large Bright Colorado Bolide Meteor

Guest490 (guest): On Friday Dec. 3rd, 2010 at about 6:30 pm I was driving just east of Denver International Airport. I thought I was witnessing a plane crashing at first, but there was no hint of red or orange color, it was bright white with a long tail and lasted for several seconds. It seemed to be close to the ground north and east of Barr Lake .

Simona in Colorado Springs E-mails:  Just a quick note as I saw this incredible meteor on Friday night (12/3) & the website I had told about it still hasn't posted the event.  It was approx. 6:30 pm local time, I was driving north on the eastern side of Colorado Springs & saw it in the eastern sky, extremely low.  I would have sworn it landed only 10 miles to the east of me.  It was the most amazing one I've ever seen just b/c it was so incredibly low & close.   What is even odder to me is that about 6-9 months ago I saw another incredible meteor, when I was driving & was at the exact same location as this one (Approx. Powers Blvd x Dublin), what are the odds of seeing a meteor entering the atmosphere a few months apart when you are driving (& the driver) both times at almost the exact same location.  The other meteor however was in the northwest sky & was much higher.   Appeared to be landing over the Air Force Academy.
regards,
Simona

Saturday, December 4, 2010 6:06:00 PM MST Anonymous posted...
I was driving east on Table Mesa Blvd in Boulder, CO on 12/3/10 at 6:30 PM and saw this large green meteor to the north of me, coming out of the east. It was truly the most incredible falling star I've ever seen. As the others posted, it was in view for several seconds. I even had a chance to tell my husband "check it out" and he saw the tail end. 

Jeanne Judge E-mails: Last night at @ 6:30 p.m. I saw a striking and large ball of green light in the sky, Northeast in the sky from Golden, CO.  It was much larger and greener than any shooting star that I have seen in the past.  At first I thought that it was a fireball from an airplane it was that striking.  It fell to the North/North/West very quickly and dissipted while it was still well above the earth.

Guest206 (guest) Reports: Saw a very large green ball of light in the sky north east of Golden, CO @ 6:30 on December 3, 2010. At first I thought it was a fireball from an exploded plane it was that large- but it was green in color, moved very quickly, and dissipated quickly. It was quite beautiful and stunning. It fell to the NNW in the sky (still significanyly east of Golden and, it appeared, Denver)

Mitriza (guest) Reports: So glad we weren't the only ones to see it! We were driving north from Colorado Springs at about 6:30 pm on 12/3/2010 and saw a blue-green light to the NE falling quickly. It faded for a half second and then came right back. We were waiting for a boom or fireball but nothing happened. Very curious. Never seen anything like that before.
Stillwater, OK at 23:00 central time 3DEC2010

ELPALLSKY Guest185 Reports: Saw a green light falling from the sky from Stillwater OK at 11PM central time 12/3/10. I was driving east and saw it slightly to the south.

reported on http://www.elpasoallsky.blogspot.com/

Other reports are coming in now from Colorado, Kansas and Texas about this event. If you observed this event, please e-mail me at wxtx01@gmail.com with time, date, location and a brief description including brightness, direction of travel, color, duration and whether there was any fragmentation or sounds such as sonic booms within 2 minutes of the event. Thanks !

Other Reports (posted on Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News)...
Westminster, Colorado ~18:29 3DEC2010
justme (guest) wrote: I saw the same as mentioned by Buck Lynn earlier tonight and finally took the time out (to try and find out what I saw). I am in Westminster and I gasped and it looked so large I tried to make my husband look at what I half thought was a plane crashing. lol
This was also out of the north... and it was after dinner but I do not know the time,but it was very bright and huge, white in color. I forgot to make a wish, after I mentioned it and talked with my husband about what he missed looking at he told me to make a wish...hey if I get a million dollars we will celebrate (but it must have been about 2 or 3 minutes after it vanished from the sky).

Denver, Colorado ~18:29 MST 3DEC2010
Buck Lynn wrote: "My name is Buck Lynn, in Denver, Colorado. I was just looking for info on what I saw tonight, it was at 18:28pm MST in the North sky slightly east. Biggest entry I have ever seen. I'd love to know if this was unusual? it was SO big I immediately texted a friend of mine after the sighting, that msg was sent at 18:29 MST so the event occured within the last minute or so.  I`m an hour and a half north of Monument CO,though and the body was way north of me.I was in prime vewing position.  That scared me I actually braced for impact. I`ve seen lots of falling stars"this was way different and much bigger. "

North East of Monument Colorado  TIME? 3DEC2010

Guest359 (guest):Just saw what appeared to be a meteorite North East of Monument Colorado...Big,Bright, Blue...fell through the clouds and lit them up...Way cool...what was it???

 North of Austin, Texas  11:20 P.M. 2DEC2010
Guest583 (guest): I live just North of Austin, Texas & was outside having a smoke, around 11:20 P.M. last night, December 2nd, wen I saw that largest meteor(?) of my life.This was no faint shooting star. This was a brilliant, white-white/blue, object that left a substantial trail & looked to be "shedding" material in its wake. It was truly amazing, a sight I will never forget. Anyone else hear anything about this one?  Oh, & it was in the West,Southwest sky,moving from South to North, possibly away from me but I have no way of knowing for sure from where I sat. If anyone has any additional information on this observation,or any questions,please contact me. Thanks much, Rob (contact info on file)

Tucson Bright Bolide...New Images From Tucson !

Carl Hergenrother, Astronomer and moderator of The Transient Sky blogsite has graciously afforded elp these images of the Tucson bolide of 11/28/10. Hergenrother is a Tucson resident, operating an allsky camera there. Hergenrother reports...

Two interesting meteor events happened this past week. First a brilliant fireball was seen over southern AZ on the night of Nov 28/29 at ~11:53 pm. The fireball was picked up by my all-sky cam and was even seen as far south as Hermosillo were Salvador Aguirre’s camera picked it up. I’ll have more on this event later, for now follow the latest on James Gamble’s excellent El Paso AllSky blog...(more)... 

GIF Movie and Composite Image Courtesy Carl Hergenrother

Tucson Bolide Update...ELP Captures 11/28/10 Tucson Fireball

ELP Allsky Reports: After a thorough search of archived imagery, I'm happy to report that the El Paso Station/Sandia Allsky Camera did capture the Tucson AZ bolide which blazed across SE Arizona skies at 23:52:15 MST 11/28/10 (06:52:15 UTC 11/29/10). In the full composite w/compass, the meteor appears at roughly 255 degrees and flashes at roughly 259 degrees. This event is of particular interest to me as I was in Tucson at the time and witnessed it firsthand. I now estimate the magnitude of the meteor during flight at -13 with a terminal burst magnitude of possibly as high as -14. Again, I heard no sonics, i.e. electrophonics nor sonic booms. Below are composite flight images and a movie of the event as seen from the El Paso Allsky Camera. I'm hoping for additional images and videos from allsky cameras in Tucson shortly and will update this blog as/if they become available. SE Arizona residents who saw this meteor event are encouraged to email me at wxtx01@gmail.com and file a report with the AMS at http://www.amsmeteors.org/fireball/report.html

Geminids Meteor Shower: 'Up All Night' With NASA!

NASA Press Release...
The 2010 Geminid meteor shower promises to be lively, with realistic
viewing rates of 50-80 meteors per hour and potential peaks reaching 120  meteors per ...(more)...
Also visit NASA's new meteor detection weblog "FIREBALLS" at http://fireballs.ndc.nasa.gov/ and click on live view to see the latest image from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville Alabama Facility.

Meteor Research News...New Mexico State University to become hub for allsky camera detections...

Overview

What are we building? Cameras: Uplooking wide-field, video Network: Volunteer nodes (100+?) in continental US Server: Central server at NMSU to correlate and catalog events (meteor and manmade) Goal: Investigate, improve, and expand a ground-based all-sky camera network necessary for (more)...

OFF TOPIC...Total Lunar Eclipse Dec. 21, 2010...

From Carl Hergenrother (The Transient Sky)...
The big event this month is a Total Lunar Eclipse on the night of Dec 20/21. The Moon will be located nearly overhead during the peak of the eclipse for North American observers.
The start of the umbral eclipse (when the darkest part of Earth’s shadow covers the Moon) will occur at 6:32 UT (1:32 EST / 12:32 CST / 11:32 MST / 10:32 PST) with mid-eclipse at 8:16 UT (3:16 EST / 2:16 CST / 1:16 MST / 12:16 PST)

UPDATE...Bright Tucson Bolide of 11/28/10 Captured By Camera In Mexico !

Dr. Salvador Aguirre of the Hermosillo, Mexico Sandia Allsky Camera Station has provided ELP another new image of the 11/28/10 Tucson AZ event. The bolide is seen just left of top center, and displays the bright terminal flash. Hermosillo is roughly 218 miles (352 km) due south of Tucson.

*Again...event time is corrected to 23:52 MST (06:52 UTC)*