Geminid Meteor Fireball Image Captured From North Carolina 14DEC2011

ELPALLSKY Reader Ken Christison Captures GEMINID Fireball Over Conway, NC 2:23 A.M. EST-07:23 UTC 14DEC2011

Thank you Ken for this great shot. Congrats!

image courtesy and (c) Ken Christison-Conway, NC-click image to enlarge

UPDATE!!!.....4TH Meteor Fireball Reported From North Carolina In 24 HRS 03DEC2011...Also Seen In Virginia, Tennessee

Email From:
Parks A.-Charlotte, NC:
Tonight in the southern horizon south of my location in Charlotte, NC about 630 or so. Fragmenting as it fell. Lasted about three seconds from my viewpoint.  Blueish green in color. An aquaintance in Winston Salem also spotted it also so I'm not sure how far south from Charlotte it was in reality. Heading from west to east.  Thank You Parks!!

UPDATE !!!!!! This event captured by NASA All Sky Fireball Camera
6:46 P.M. EST 03DEC2011

image above and video below courtesy NASA and Tellus Science Museum-Cartersville, GA

ADDITIONAL REPORTS

Jason W.

Saw the same thing as everyone else about the same time.   We were between Aurora and New Bern NC.

Patricia R.

Heading up Highway 86North, just crossed into Caswell County (NC) saw a very bright blue meteor.

Ramsey J.-Knoxville, TN

While driving southwards I saw a huge fireball fall from about 40 degrees above the horizon almost directly south (slightest towards the east) towards the horizon. It made it to about 10 degrees above the horizon before it blinked out. I live in the city and it was a little hazy last night, but it was hard to miss, so must have been a bright one! It was a sea green color.

Michele B.

I came across your sight trying to research what I may have seen last night. I tried to sign up so I could post, but wasn't able to do that. Approximately 7 p.m. EST in Frankfort, Kentucky on Saturday December 3, 2011, I was walking my dog and saw what looked like a small bright white burning particle falling down vertically (very much at an angle) from apprx. east to west. This was about 1/4 a mile from I-64. Where I live has no street lights and this was right across the street in a field. It appeared to burn out before it hit the ground. This is fascinating - any idea what it was that I saw?

Stanley G.
Atlanta,I85 northbound about 6:45 pm. My first  thought was an airliner was falling out of the sky, but it was way too fast. Very bright  with a comet like tail, lasting a few seconds before flaming out. Seen lots of sho oting stars in my 72 years, never anything this bright or large. Expected to here on news about space debris of some sort. NOTA!

Carolyn J.-Ft. Blackmore, VA-~7:00 P.M. EST Saw a huge green fireball falling very quickly in the eastern sky, probably lasted about 3 seconds before it went out of sight over the mountains.  Very impressive! Brenda-Panther Stadium-Charlotte, NC: Hi.  Friend and I both saw fireball while standing outside Panther Stadium Saturday evening a little before 7pm.  It was quite large and orange, not a typical shooting star.  Quite exciting! Andy & Laurel B.-Dacula, GA-6:45 P.M. EST: Driving on Hamilton Mill Road and saw it trailing downward in the southern sky... Very bright and moving very fast... Left like a dotted illuminated line in the sky toward the end of it... Lasted for at least 3 seconds... I haven't seen anything that bright in the sky since the soviet missile back in the late 80's... But this was moving much faster than that. Samantha C.-Del Rio, TN: We saw a very bright sparkly orange light appearing to be larger than a normal shooting star Dec 3, 2011 at around 6:40 pm. We were driving on Old 15th Road, Del Rio TN. We were heading east. It appeared to be headed in an easterly direction. This light was bigger then anything I have ever seen. It was sparkly in nature, and did not have any trailing light than I am used to seeing. It looked like a mixture of orange and white sparkles. And it was so fast it only stayed in our view for less then a second. But so big it was very hard to miss. Pamela M.-Irmo, SC: Hi: My children age 11  and 14, where the very luck viewers of the meteroite that was seen by others in the SC, NC, VR, TN area!  I believe we may have been the closest viewers as my kids remarked that this meterorite was shockingly large!  It frieghtened them!  I'd like to ask you about sites or further information on estimating distance when viewing a meterorite falling! Here's a description for posting on your site! According to Amelia who is 14 and witnessed this amazing site with 11 year old brother John. On December 3, 2011 about 6:40 PM, Amelia and John had just exited the front door of our home to go to a neighbors house.  I have carefully determined they were facing south-south west, looking up into the sky, a very large fire ball traveling north-west to south-east became visible. The fire ball appeared enormous to them and was a large glowing white ball ringed in red fire.  The ball was followed by a large long thick bright tail, that gradiated from red to orange and then yellow towards the end of the tail.  It entered their vision on a diagonal in relation to them (over the shoulder feeling) traveling sort of paralell to the horizon as they viewed it.  Using the horizon as a parallel (arm stretched straight forward fingers pointing straight and over head being 90 degrees, the meteor was at 50 degrees in the sky.  The meteor appeared large in size seeming slightly smaller than the moon would appear if that low in the sky on nights when it is full (though the moon was not full that night).  The tail was unusually thick and extremely and surprisingly long, being about 20 times longer than the meteor. The meteor traveled a short distance and stalled in forward momentum as a result of breaking into two fiery pieces and the tail dissipated.  Then it broke into two more pieces and fizzled and disappeared. From The ELPALLSKY Chatbox: Dec 3 2011, 6:37 PM Zebrology (guest): I'm in Concord, NC and I saw a huge ball in the sky with fire tracking behind it. It was only in the sky for a few seconds and it just disappeared. Dec 4 2011, 3:41 PM Guest99 (guest): Last night, Dec 3rd, at 6:40 pm, while traveling out of Salisbury, Nc headed towards Charlotte, South on I85, my Mom & I saw what looked like a large fireball falling from the sky. At first I was certain it was a plane crashing, it was very bright (white) with obvious flames streaming behind it, traveling too fast for any plane in retrospect. It was about a 5 second lapse before it started to break apart & at least one large portion fell off and disintegrated as it fell. My son was very frightened (he is 6  Dec 4 2011, 5:37 AM Dan Parker: witnessed a large green meteor/fireball on Dec 3rd 2011 in Greenville SC. It was traveling roughly east to west with a duration of 2-3 seconds. It broke into 2-3 large pieces. I have never seen such a large and beautiful meteor in my life! Between 6:00 pm and 7:30 pm EST

A Third North Carolina Meteor Fireball Within 24 Hrs. 03DEC2011

Email From:
Brian W.-Coleridge, NC:
Hi. I saw one at around 1am in Coleridge NC very bright and wide  trail seemed almost smokey and it flashed like it broke up or exploded part way appeared towards the west sky. I never seen one like it before so I searched online and seen the earlier reports of one and wanted to add this one. Thank you Brian...Others see this third event? email wxtx01@gmail.com w/ your report! Thanks.

Another North Carolina Meteor Fireball 02DEC2011

Email From:

Bruce H.-Bath, NC-~4:00pm EST:
Just saw something fall out of sky. I'm near Bath N.C. looking South. Long streak of light then fizzeled out above tree line  Thanks for the heads up Bruce...OTHERS SEE THIS EVENT? Email wxtx01@gmail.com with your reports. THANK YOU!

Diane H.-Darlington, SC:

I saw what my daughter & I think was a shooting star. Well something falling from the sky.

It was tonight 12/2/11 around 6-6:30pm here in Darlington, SC. Maybe East/South east. But it was bright as a white LED light with sparlles that fizzled out on the way out. It was almost horizontal but slightly going down. Way too high for fireworks & surely not a plane. I wonder what it was?

Stacey M.-Wake Forest, NC:

Hello! Got to your blog from Google after seeing a large fiery object moving quickly across the sky. It was exactly how I pictured Haley's comet back when I was a child. It had a long trail or tail.  I actually thought for a moment "this is the end," since I've never seen anything like it. It was a little after 6pm here in Wake Forest, NC; I had just finished a jog.

Ben H.-Raleigh, NC:
I saw your posting on a website and Im wondering if we saw the same thing. I was heading south into Raleigh about 6:00pm tonight when I saw a bright meteor go across the sky that seemed to travel from northeast to southwest. It obviously broke apart and disintegrated and you could see that happen really well from where I was sitting in my car.

Paula B.-Raleigh, NC:

I saw the same thing described by Ben H. in Raleigh. I am in Raleigh, was travelling south just after 6:00 when I saw the “fireball”. Any word on what it was?

 

Maari C.-Unknown Location:
I saw this too. Last night 12-2 around 6:15ish. It was a bright ball of light, like a close-up shooting star. I could see it breaking apart with little bits burning off the back as it fell. I thought for sure it would hit the ground. It seemed  so close. I kept waiting to hear it hit the ground somewhere. It seemed like the dogs in our neighborhood started barking around the same time. It was really cool. I've never seen something like that.

R. Peters-Greenwood, SC:
At just-past-6 pm local (maybe 6:08), I was driving into my neighborhood (eastward) and saw a bright bluish-white trail begin on the sky from left to right (north to south).  It at first appeared to me to be the flame from the engine of a single-engine military fighter aircraft but then as it elongated, I realized it was something coming in to the earth's atmospheres.  It began to break apart, I assume, as I saw a few bits come away and quickly disintegrate.  Finally as it reached the right side of my windshield it fizzled out.  Very neat, I've never seen anything like it before.

"Arizona Dewdrop"-Columbia, SC:
around 6pm last night I saw a bright white shooting star. Larger than any I've ever seen. It also had a tail that was thick and white, but not as bright as the star itself. It seemed to travel the. Entire length of the sky than fizzeled.  What was it? 

North Carolina Meteor Fireball 06:08 A.M. EST 02DEC2011

This Was A Widely Seen Event And We Need Additional Reports !!!

Please Email Your Reports To ELPALLSKY (click)

Email From:

Phil M.-Wilmington, NC-06:08 A.M. EST:
Large glowing fireball, aprox 2 seconds, moving from NE to SW across the sky. Yellow, white then green in color with increasing sparks near the end then disappearing with a slight flash. Witnessed with a friend after our early morning run. I have seen “shooting stars”, this was much larger and with intense color.Thanks,

Kerry B.-Clayton, NC-06:08 A.M. EST:
Approx ½ in in diameter. White fireball with red perimeter. Observed dropping from about 120 deg above horizon to 50 deg when lost in treeline. Moving on a S/SW direction viewed from 35.652703 -78.400872. Approx 2 second view. Strong long tail that immediately disappeared. Maintained diameter from where viewed consistent with rapid altitude drop vs shooting across (away) the sky. KB – Clayton NC

Christy H.-Shelby, NC:
My husband and coworkers also saw this on the way in to work (approx. 6:10 am./ Dec. 2.) They were traveling on hwy.74 in from Shelby, NC toward neighboring Kings Mountain, NC. They described it as bright with changing colors, green orange, and blue.  Duration was estimated 4-5 secs. and pretty awesome because so many saw it.  Said it looked as if it streaked and then descended quickly.

Gayle-Grandfather Mountain, NC:

I saw something fall out of the sky at approximately 6:10 this morning.  I live near Grandfather Mountain.  It was blue/green and as it disappeared, it has gold/yellow sparks trailing it.  Do you know what it was???? December 2^nd, 6:08am, Grandfather Mountain area.

Blue/green ball, I saw it for about 3-4 seconds, as it disappeared, it has gold/yellow sparks coming from the back end.

Thanks

Pablo R.-Lillington, NC:
I witnessed this sighting on my way to work while I was driving south on NC210 in Lillington NC at 06:08 AM. It appeared to be large in diameter (between baseball and basketball).  It was big with a large bright white with green  tail and lasted around 5 seconds.  I saw it out of my driver side window and it was parallel to the top of my car; seemed like if I was driving along side of it.  It startled me because it was so close, possibly landed in my area; it was huge.

Jan R.-Winston Salem, NC:
I also saw what I guess to be a fireball Dec. 2, 2011 around 6:15 in the a.m. It shot across highway 52 and over the treetops, still flaming - yellowy-green. My first close encounter! 

North Carolina Meteor Fireball 22nov2011

Email From:
Sally B.-Raleigh, NC:-7:30 P.M. EST:
Traveling by car from Raleigh, North Carolina towards Wilmington on I-40 East, near an area called Rose Hill.  Saw a large round lighted object arch across the sky, northeast to south west, approx.  It was several seconds and had a trail illuminated behind it... Like an oversized shooting star.  Seemed really close.  Looked for news today but did not find anything so did a few searches, found your site and thought I'd share this.
It was not like anything I'd ever seen.  Thanks for your report Sally!

A Pair Of North Carolina Fireballs 23OCT2011

Email From:

Ken C.-Conway, NC:
Hi Jim,
Attached is a cropped image of a pair of meteors I shot this
evening here in North Carolina.  Shot from near the same
place as the fireball I sent you a couple weeks ago.
Is this very common?  They are in the same 30 second frame.
I don't know if they occurred simultaneously, or not since I
was in  the house when it was recorded.
Take care.     Thank you Ken! We are in multiple simultaneous meteor showers right now. While not very common to see two so close together, certainly not unheard of either. Thanks again! Very nice shot.

image courtesy of and (c) 2011-Ken Christison-Conway, NC

North Carolina Meteor Fireball 16OCT2011

Email From:
Diane B.-Raleigh, NC-8:00 p.m EDT:
Saw a large green meteor fireball orginated in east across whole sky to west.  It was after dark but not sure of exact time.

Raleigh, North Carolina Large Green Meteor Fireball 16OCT2011

Email From:

Diane B.-Raleigh, NC:
Saw a large green meteor fireball orginated in east across whole sky to west.  It was after dark but not sure of exact time.  Thanks Diane! Any others who saw this? Please post to wxtx01@gmail.com

Breaking News...Large Bright Meteor Fireball Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina 7:32 pm EDT 22Mar2100

Internet traffic and emails to ELPALLSKY indicate a significant fireball seen from NC 22MAR2011

Email From Ivanna T. March 22, 2011 around 7:32 pm. Driving from Durham to Raleigh on hwy 40 I saw a large bright white fireball in the sky seemingly near the airport.
Aiken, South Carolina arrived from elpasoallsky.blogspot.com on "elp allsky".
14:08:52 -- 8 hours 39 mins ago
Burgaw, North Carolina arrived from google.com on "elp allsky" by searching for fireball falling out of sky March 22, 2011.
17:44:39 -- 5 hours 5 mins ago
Hudson, North Carolina arrived on "elp allsky: Bright Green Streak In CA Sky-Meteor Fireball Indicated By Internet Traffic 06:45-06:47 PDT 14 MAR2011".
19:39:25 -- 3 hours 10 mins ago
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina arrived on "elp allsky: Mar 22, 2011".
Wilmington, North Carolina arrived from google.com on "elp allsky: Breaking Meteor News Texas...Major Bright Green Fireball Bolide Seen Over Dallas-Fort Worth And Central TX ~10:30 pm CST 12 Mar 2011" by searching for i just saw a meteor green.
Rocky Point, North Carolina arrived from google.com on "elp allsky: Bright NE And New England Meteor Fireball 29JAN2011" by searching for fireball in nc 3 22 2011.
20:18:47 -- 2 hours 32 mins ago
Dalton, Georgia arrived from google.com on "elp allsky: "Mystery" Fireball Over Atlanta GA ?...Is No Mystery !" by searching for ga fireball.
20:17:05 -- 2 hours 35 mins ago
Durham, North Carolina arrived from google.com on "elp allsky: Meteor Capture By Hermosillo MX Sandia All Sky Camera 19MAR2011" by searching for fireballs in the sky 2011. 20:22:05 -- 2 hours 30 mins ago
Apex, North Carolina arrived from aim.search.aol.com on "elp allsky".
20:34:29 -- 2 hours 18 mins ago
Raleigh, North Carolina arrived from google.com on "elp allsky: Jan 12, 2011" by searching for saw something in sky raleigh, nc.
20:39:54 -- 2 hours 13 mins ago
Yadkinville, North Carolina arrived on "elp allsky".
21:14:12 -- 1 hour 39 mins ago
From Local News: 
Local 911 callers report meteor sighting
StarNewsOnline.com (blog) by Brian Freskos: A possible meteorite entering the Earth's atmosphere late Tuesday evening had 911 centers in Southeastern North Carolina fielding
multiple phone calls from concerned residents. New Hanover County emergency
dispatchers interviewed ... http://yellowtape.blogs.starnewsonline.com/14304/local-911-callers-report-meteor-sighting/
http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/Fire_In_The_Sky_Across_Eastern_Carolina_118474024.html

Mar 23 2011, 7:15 AM

Guest130 (guest): I was driving south on Hwy NC 94 around 730 pm when I looked towards the east and notice a bright ligth, silver color on the front and bright orange on the tail, it lastest a few seconds and it was gone, anyone has any comments on this?

Mar 23 2011, 12:52 PM

Guest506 (guest): I saw the meteorite from Little River South Carolina at approximatelly 7:30 PM on 3-22-2011 appearing in the northeast sky. It looked like a shooting star, but was totally visible in the daylight sky. It appeared a bright white, starting as a largest ball and fading to an arched tail.was surfing around 7:30 and saw a bright ball of light with a tail, fall across the sky.  it looked as if it was on fire, with flames bursting all around it!
 
I saw it in Wilmington NC
Constance H. Knox
General Manager
CBS 10 WILM 

Mary Turner: I was traveling east on 40 just past Harrison Ave in Cary at 7:33 when I saw a big fireball. It was amazing because the sky wasn't yet dark. It appeared to be dropping straight down, and it was to the south of the highway. It seemed to flare up a few times and have a greenish tint. I almost thought I was seeing an emergency flare or firework, but realized it was too big. Amazing!
Longtime amateur astronomer Conrad Pope saw a brilliant meteor cross the sky last night around 7:30 PM from Wilmington. He also said he heard reports of folks seeing the object.  It was seen only about five minutes after sunset.
Conrad reports “I tracked it for over 80 degrees and about 8 seconds.  Medium speed with an intense blue head and about a 10 degree orange tail. Have not seen any images but the local TV stations and the paper have a shorts stories with some witness comments.  It was much brighter than the full moon and resembled magnesium burning.  Waited for a sonic boom but heard nothing.”

***If you saw this event, please email wxtx01@gmail.com with details. Also, video and photos if you have them. Please indicate whether you saw local TV NEWS video. Thank You!***