April 5, 2015 - KAZAKHSTAN - A strange black circle was spotted in the sky above a village in
northern Kazakhstan. Baffled residents captured the mysterious spectacle
on video as it hovered in the air for fifteen minutes before
dissipating. Villagers living in
Shortandy, some 70 kilometers north of the Kazakh capital Astana,
witnessed the spooky event on Friday afternoon. “It was like a black cloud. We saw it at around 4 pm on April
3. It dissipated like smoke, but it was completely
odorless,” Oleg Menshikov, a village resident, told
Today.kz.
Andrey Solodovnik,
associate physics professor at the Northern Kazakhstan State
University estimates the ring was about 100 meters in diameter
and floated at an altitude of between 200 meters to a
kilometer.
WATCH: Mysterious black ring in the sky baffles Kazakh village.
As to its mysterious origins, Solodnovik suggested the giant hoop
was most likely a large smoke ring and was the result of
combustion, a theory that confirms what most experts have said
about similar circles seen in the past.
Black rings have been sighted all over the world. Last April, a
video of one such event recorded in Leamington Spa, England, left
internet users puzzled after making the rounds on social media.
Dozens of other videos featuring rings nearly identical to the
one seen in Kazakhstan can be found on YouTube.
WATCH: Schoolgirl videos strange black ring in the sky.
Mysterious or not, some equipment is known to produce rings of
smoke just like that. Smoke rings generators are rather
associated with parties, like in the video below.
WATCH: Giant fireballs and smoke rings at Burning Man 2008.
March 16, 2015 - UNITED KINGDOM -
Swirling through the air in mesmerising saucer-like shapes, these
exceptionally rare lenticular clouds are the most common explanation for
UFO sightings. The remarkable-looking disc shapes were spotted by
amateur photographer Glenn Spencer, 42, in the sky above Chester in
Cheshire.
The formations, also known as wave clouds, were
scattered over miles, producing a stunning spectacle. Rarely seen in the
UK, lenticular clouds are formed when a tall geographic feature, such
as the the top of a mountain, obstructs a strong wind.
Rare spectacle: These lenticular clouds, also known as altocumulus standing lenticularis, are hardly ever seen in British skies
Stunning: They form when wind blows over high
ground and then undulates down in a stream of waves creating a rippled
effect as the air cools
Pilots of powered aircraft tend to avoid flying
near lenticular clouds because of the turbulence of the rotor systems
that accompany them
The
interruption in airflow creates a wind wave pattern in the atmosphere on
one side of the mountain and at the top of these waves, moisture in the
air condenses and forms a cloud. As air moves down into the trough of
these waves the water evaporates again, leaving behind clouds in a
characteristic lenticular shape.
Mr Spencer noticed them while
driving to the shops and was so amazed that he stopped the car to
retrieve his camera from the boot. He said: 'I tried to follow them to
higher ground to get a good view. They were just so mesmerising and I
thought they looked amazing. It is easy to see why people mistake them
for UFOs. They are brilliant. I've never seen anything like it.' - Daily Mail.
This photo taken Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015, and provided by the Grand
Teton National Park shows, an unusual cloud formation across the summit
of the Grand
Teton in this view from the park's headquarters campus at
Moose, Wyo. (AP Photo/Grand Teton National Park, Jackie Skaggs)
February 15, 2015 - WYOMING, UNITED STATES - A bizarre sheet of wispy clouds undulating over the Teton Range
enchanted tourists and even veteran employees of Grand Teton National
Park.
Drivers stopped along the park's main highway Thursday morning to gaze in awe and shoot photos of the rare phenomenon hovering over Grand Teton mountain. At 13,770 feet above sea level, the Grand Teton is the highest point in the Teton Range.
The shape-shifting clouds at times appeared like a billowing handkerchief or seagull with its beak touching the mountain's summit, park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said.
She first spotted them on her morning drive to work. "I had to make myself pay attention to the road because I was like, 'Wow, that is really strange,' " Skaggs said Friday.
The clouds persisted through the morning before finally dissipating in the afternoon.
They were lenticular clouds, a type that forms downwind of mountain ranges in certain conditions. Occasionally, lenticular clouds occur as perfectly symmetrical disks, appearing like giant flying saucers and prompting UFO reports.
These particular lenticular clouds resulted from an unusual combination of strong wind and moisture between 13,000 and 14,000 feet, said Riverton-based National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Jones, who got wind of the event from several weather spotters.
"We see these clouds get shaped both by the topography of the mountain and also the way the air will flow over the mountains," Jones said. "It was just in the right place at the right time." - Missoulian.
November 21, 2014 - PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, CANADA
- When Blanche Ward of Charlottetown stepped outside her door on Monday
afternoon, she spotted something unusual: there were two small trails
of smoke slowly flying high across the sky.
Ward immediately
rushed back into her house and grabbed her camera. When she zoomed in
and took her shot, she saw a small red dot with the two lines of smoke
trailing behind.
She says the object remained in the sky for one or two minutes before dropping below the horizon and out of view.
It is presently unconfirmed what the object was. Ward immediately suspected that it was a meteorite or a piece of space debris.
It
is a strong possibility that the object was the peak of the Leonids
Meteor Shower which peaked on November 17 - the day of Ward's sighting.
On the other hand, if it was a piece of space debris, Ward does not
believe it would have landed anywhere near Charlottetown given its
apparent altitude.
She has spoken with other locals in Charlottetown, none of whom actually spotted the object. - The Aurora.
November 21, 2014 - UKRAINE - A large, bright flash was seen late Wednesday in the Eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.
The flash lasted for a few seconds, illuminating the area near Ruptly’s live cam.
Fighting has been ongoing in Donetsk between pro-Russian fighters and Kiev government forces.
WATCH: Massive flash light up Donetsk skyline.
Theories
of what might have caused the flash appeared both on social and
traditional media, with a new meteorite or military exercise in the
region being among the top guesses.
Was the blast a result of a meteorite fireball, power station being destroyed, or an EMP attack?
A several days ago, an extraordinary bright orange flash also lit up the sky in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region in the Urals.
The unusual event stunned locals, scientists and emergency services.
People
in the Urals witnessed a space ‘invasion’ event a year and a half ago,
when the famous Chelyabinsk meteorite hit the region.
A massive
fireball explosion in February 2013 injured over a thousand people with
shattered glass mostly, and damaged many residential and industrial
buildings. - Ruptly TV.
November 18, 2014 - URALS, RUSSIA
- An extraordinary bright orange flash has lit up the sky in Russia’s
Sverdlovsk region in the Urals. While locals captured the massive
‘blast’ on numerous cameras, both scientists and emergency services
still struggle to explain the unusual event.
Dark evening skies in
the town of Rezh in Sverdlovsk region near Russia's Ekaterinburg turned
bright orange for some ten seconds on November 14, with the event being
caught on several cameras by the locals.
A driver filmed the
massive flash with his dashcam, later posting the video on YouTube, with
more people commenting they’ve seen it too. Teenagers in the town of
Rezh also filmed the phenomenon with a mobile phone.
WATCH: Massive light flash over Russian Urals stuns locals, scientists.
Theories
of what might have caused the “blast” appeared both on social and
traditional media, with a new meteorite or military exercise in the
region being among the top guesses. Regional emergency services said no
accidents in connection with the event had been recorded. No sound of
explosion has been reported either.
Still from RT video
Still from RT video
Still from RT video
According to E1.ru,
the emergency officials suggested the military were behind the flash,
as they might have had a scheduled explosive ordnance disposal
procedure. The city administration has also said such ammunition
disposal might have taken place, while the military themselves denied
they were behind the mystery. “No exercise and training were
underway on that day, and no military units are based in the region, so
we have nothing to do with it,” a military press service told E1.ru.
WATCH: More images of the massive light flash.
A fireball caused by an asteroid’s collision with the Earth's atmosphere is among other presumed reasons for the burning sky. “Looks
like a falling bolide, which invaded us. Because of the low cloud cover
it ceased to exist above the clouds and lit up the whole sky,” a member of the meteorites committee of the Russian Academy of Sciences Viktor Grokhovsky told 66.ru.
Another
astronoma, Vadim Krushinsky, doubted his colleague's theory, saying the
color of the flash does not support the asteroid speculation. The shade
of light depends on the body’s temperature, and flashes caused by
bolides are usually whiter, he explained to Ekburg.tv. The observatory
engineer suggested his own theory, saying a space rocket launch might
have been the cause.
Still from youtube video (Andrey Kazantsev)
A
path of launches from the Plesetsk cosmodrome lies above the area,
Krushinsky said. But, according to Russian Federal Space Agency's
website, the latest launch from the Plesetsk cosmodrome happened on
October 29, with the next one planned for November 24.
People in the Urals witnessed a space ‘invasion’ event a year and a half ago, when the famous Chelyabinsk meteorite
hit the region. A massive fireball explosion in February 2013 injured
over a thousand people with shattered glass mostly, and damaged many
residential and industrial buildings. - RT.
May 30, 2014 - TORONTO, CANADA - Was it a blown hydro transformer, a meteor flying through the atmosphere? It couldn't have been a UFO, could it?
Whatever it was, few people seem to know, at least not yet.
Numerous reports from local residents seeing a flashing light and hearing a loud sonic boom began running rampant on Orangeville-centric social media sites on Wednesday night (May 28).
Residents in a radius as wide as Howard Crescent near the Headwaters
Health Care Centre to College Avenue near Credit Meadows Elementary
School reported hearing the unidentified noise at about 9:30 p.m.
"Although I did not see a "flash," I did hear the
very loud sound," Brett D Hancock posted on Facebook from Murray Court.
"And it was extremely loud."
"By the hospital," echoed Jada Doucette. "My big bully went ballistic. Even made my daughter and myself jump. It was so loud."
Before jumping to rash conclusions about aliens, UFOs, meteors or any
other phenomena, The Banner sought to eliminate some of the more
plausible scenarios first.
According to Rob Koekkoek, engineer with Orangeville Hydro, the local
utility has no evidence that one of its transformers blew last night.
There is no evidence of any field issues either..
"There have been no related calls from our customers," Koekkoek said in
an email. "It appears the noise is not related to our equipment."
Police and firefighters appear stumped as well. Neither Dufferin OPP nor
Orangeville firefighters received any emergency calls about a sonic
boom or flash of light, although fire chief Andy Macintosh admitted to
hearing it.
"It didn't make me jump or anything," he said. "It was just a bang of some type. Don't know what it was."
Orangeville police Const. Scott Davis confirmed officers were called to investigate a report of a loud noise and flash of "white light"
near Howard Crescent at 9:41 p.m. Responding officers, however, were
unable to determine the cause or find any explanation for the apparent
phenomena.
"We checked the area. We couldn't come up with a source for the noise or
the white light, and that was it," Davis said. "That is the only report
that we had."
That seems to strengthen the possibility of meteor flying through the
atmosphere. As Orangeville Coun. Jeremy Williams pointed out on
Facebook, the area is at the tail end of a unique astrological event
involving thousands of meteors.
"It is possible, although nothing has been confirmed," Williams suggested. "Again, this is speculation at this point."
Jeff Renaud, senior media relations officer at the University of Western Ontario, told The Banner a loud
boom and flashes of light are consistent with what scientists would
investigate as a possible meteor flying through the atmosphere, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
"I'm not a scientist," Renaud pointed out. "But it sounds like something they would investigate."
If a meteor were to fall to the ground, Williams suggested the impact
would register on seismic detectors. As he noted further, the United
States Geological Survey isn't reporting any significant seismic
activity in this region.
So, what actually caused the loud boom, and a flash of light? It's anybody's guess at this point.
- Orangeville Banner.
April 20, 2014 - ENGLAND - Residents in Rudloe have heralded the estate "the new Roswell", after
several people reported seeing a strange object in the sky last Sunday.
The strange object in the sky, captured by Rudloe resident Gemma Perks.
Jo Collier was among those who saw a burning orange light in the sky shortly after 8pm, and likened it to the infamous UFO incident in New Mexico in 1947, which sparked numerous conspiracy theories.
She said: "I was at my mum's in Rudloe and my other half came running up the road shouting there was something falling out of the sky.
"It was like this big orange glow, absolutely huge, and the tail was bright, bright orange.
"I have looked online at The Sky at Night website and I can't see any meteors or comets in our vicinity. It wasn't an aeroplane, because it was going down; I think it went over the fields in Box.
"I event tweeted Dara Ó Briain, but he didn't reply.
"I honestly don't know what it was but it was definitely a strange phenomena in the sky that was travelling quite fast at a really strange angle.
"A lot of other people saw it, everyone's talking about it. I thought we're going to have the government round with the men in black to wipe our minds. They're all saying Rudloe is the new Roswell." - Gazette & Herald.
March 01, 2013 - SKY - Something caused some shaking, rattling, and rolling over many parts of Tucson Wednesday night. It happened about 7:45 p.m. Tucson News Now was inundated with calls from people asking what it
was. We made calls to several law enforcement agencies and Davis-Monthan
Air Force Base. D-M says it was not one of their aircraft that caused a
sonic boom.
Mysterious Loud Boom Heard And Felt All Over Tucson.
Capt. Adam Goldberg from Northwest Fire District says all the area
fire departments received about 100 calls. The Tucson Fire Department
says most of their calls came from the west side of Tucson. Tom Peine with the Pima County Sheriff's Department tweeted, "We
checked with variety of places to include mines, DMAFB, Pinal Army Nat.
Guard, TIA, SW Gas, El Paso Gas, TEP/So far all negative." Peine also tweeted, "calls reference "boom" seem to come from W of
Campbell/from Pinal County line to northern Green Valley/still trying to
determine source."
Genna Short posted, "East central side. Mostly my windows rattled."
Melba Alderete Munoz wrote, "Windows rattled, in the downtown area."
Cindy Calderon Weltjen posted, "3-4 large booms that shook our
house. Silverbell between Sunset/Ina. Our dogs didn't like it either!"
Summer Desrosiers Parker posted on the Tucson News Now Facebook
page, "There was something in the sky after the bang. It looked like a
lot of debris slow falling and shiny. I am on the Far East side (golf
links and Harrison) and I was looking towards the base when I saw it." - Tucson News Now.
Texas Man Captures Mysterious Light Streaking Across The Sky.
Texans in the Houston area noticed a fiery glow light up the sky Wednesday morning.
Captain William Lowery was on his boat in the Freeport area when he saw a meteor fly across the sky in a brilliant orange flash around 3 a.m.
"Nothing like that magnitude," said Lowery. "I've seen shooting stars, but this lasted three to four minutes."
After the Russian meteor exploded across the sky, it prompted scientists to better identify large meteor and asteroid threats.
- WCSH.
WATCH: Texas man captures mysterious light streaking across the sky.
Enormous Fireball Reported Over Gulf Of Mexico.
27 February 2013 - D. Beebe, Gulf of Mexico, off Louisiana 03:05 CST
1 minute plus duration. South to Northwest, I was facing South. It was
orange color and about Venus brightness. It fragmented into ~15 pieces
and glowed orange/white leaving a very long tail of sparks directly
behind it, then slowly faded away.
27 February 2013 - Bart. @ 27 03'0N; 092 03'2W - 03:30 Central USA
30 seconds duration. It was yellow to amber color and fragmented.
27 February 2013 - Seadog71, Gulf of Mexico 3:30am
20 seconds duration. Travelling south to north. White and orange color
and as bright as Venus. It was quite large and broke apart into a few
bigger and many small fragments. It was heading towards the Louisiana
coast. I took video, but it's a bit grainy at night.
27 February 2013 - Dan Richard Lafayette, Louisiana USA 03:10 CST
Event lasted over 20 seconds, then it disappeared behind clouds as it
broke up. It was moving in a southeast/northwest direction. It was white
with a tinge of red and blue as it broke up. As bright as the moon. It
looked similar to Shuttle Columbia breaking apart, but not as bright.
27 February 2013 - Byron Byrd, North Central Gulf of Mexico 03:30 CST
Over 30 seconds duration. Seen it travel across 3/4 of the visible
horizon, from south to north. It was bright white with orange sparks,
like a bright star with trails. 6 - 8 smaller fragments broke off and
followed one larger piece. They were very bright and seemed slow-moving.
27 February 2013 - Joel Ciochetto, Galveston, Texas 03:07 CST
30 seconds duration, travelling from south to north. It was a large
fireball with a long white tail. It looked like sparks were coming off
it. I'd say it was as bright as the sun.
27 February 2013 - Anthony Smith, Houston, Texas 03:15 CDT
I estimate it was visible for 15 seconds. I was going south, the lights
in the sky going appeared to be going from west to east, before
vanishing behind clouds. There were about 6-8 bright lights with tails.
As bright as Venus.
27 February 2013 - Max Watts, Dickinson 03:25 CST
I'd say it lasted for about 1 minute and 30 seconds from the time I
first noticed it. It was real bright with red tails. I thought it was a
comet at first glance. Brighter than the full moon, this thing was very
large. In fact, it was one large piece with a number of fragments behind
it. It seemed to be heading Northeast. I fully expected to hear several
impacts but heard none. My first thought was 'Russia!' and that now it's happening here!
Overhead Meteor Explosion In Bradford, Vermont, Air National Guard Claims Responsibility.
Another 'mystery boom' in the sky, this time over Vermont. The military
claimed responsibility, but locals don't seem too convinced.
WATCH: Meteor explosion in Vermont?
Two Separate Fireballs Seen Over East And West Coasts Of Canada.
25 February 2013 - Kristine Waverley, Nova Scotia 21:45 AST
5 seconds duration. It went from right to left, I was facing North. Blue
colour, as bright as the Sun. It was very low in the sky.
25 February 2013 - Nadia, Porters Lake, Nova Scotia 10:00 pm Atlantic Std. Time
~ 3 seconds duration. Moved from South to North. No sound. Bright yellow
colour with a green flaming tail. As bright as the Sun/moon. It burned
up before my eyes, and moved fast and low.
3 seconds or so duration. Big bright streak, straight down. I was facing
west. It was white colour. It was very bright and seemed very big
considering how far away it appeared (perhaps over the Pacific coast?).
Sky was still light.
25 February 2013 - Darragh Courtenay, BC, Canada 18:30 PST
I saw it for 2 seconds as I was driving through town. I was facing it
and it was heading north at a sharp enough angle downwards. Bright white
colour with a white tail and trail of smoke into the hills. It was bright, cause it was still a clear sky and still daylight there was a long trail of smoke. I tried to track it down, cause it looks like it went to the ground, there was a vertical smoke stream.
'Mystery Overhead Explosive Boom' Over Charleston, West Virginia.
Kanawha emergency dispatchers were fielding dozens of Tuesday after a
loud boom rocked several homes in Charleston and eastern Kanawha County.
Dispatchers began receiving calls a little before 5:30 p.m. from concerned residents wondering about the sound.
People in the Ariel Heights and Falling Run Road areas, both near
Oakridge Drive, told dispatchers they heard a loud booming noise and
felt their homes shake. Dispatchers said those callers reported their
power still was on and they had not seen any smoke.
Callers reported hearing the sound on Garrison Avenue and feeling it in
Fort Hill. Dispatchers said calls came in from all over the county but
no one had been able to pinpoint where the noise came from or what
caused it.
Dispatchers said first responders were on the lookout for anything that could have caused the noise but the source remained unknown.
A meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Charleston said there
was a "zero percent" chance the sound was thunder and that the office
had not received any reports of any possible earthquake. - Charleston Daily Mail.
Green And Yellow Fireball Seen Over North Carolina And Virginia.
27 February 2013 - Lucas, Wilmington, North Carolina 20:30
4- 5 seconds duration. South to north direction. Light green and yellow
color. Brighter than Venus. I didn't see any fragmentation, but the tail
was quite long.
27 February 2013 - Nick, Charlotte, NC 20:12
2-3 seconds duration. It travelled straight up to the horizon. Northwest
to southeast direction. Blue colour, as bright as a car light. No tail
and was about 1/4 the size of the moon.
27 February 2013 - Jayne Knight, Benson, NC 20:00
Approx. 7 seconds duration. West to East, from my left to right. I was
facing north. It was a red fireball with a reddish-orange tail. It was
very bright - like the sun. It looked as though the whole thing burnt
out at some point. I don't know what it was that I saw. I've never seen
anything like this before and it looked as if it was directly in front
of me and not very high up at all. Please let me know from my
description what it was that I saw.
27 February 2013 - Brenda, Fredericksburg, Virginia 08:15 approx.
Observed on my 30 min drive to work. Southeast direction. Sun was white
but clouds below were brighter than the sun. I couldn't help but
thinking it peculiar. It appeared as if the sun was the moon and
something hidden in the cloudiness was much brighter.
'Sparkly' Silver Light Seen In Otago Sky, New Zealand.
A bright light was seen descending behind Treble Cone.
Photo / Otago Daily Times.
A bright "sparkly" silver object seen falling from the sky in Otago on Sunday afternoon was probably a rarely seen daylight meteor. The Otago Daily Times received reports from about a dozen people in at least six locations about the object seen between 2.45pm and 3pm on Sunday. Mark Davis of Wanaka saw an "extremely bright" silver light dropping to Earth as he was driving from Omarama towards the Lindis Pass at 2.45pm on Sunday. He glimpsed it only briefly and described it as "sparkly".
Three people, including Wanaka farmer John Leith and Chris Scott of Christchurch saw it from west Wanaka. Mr Leith said it was a "silver flash" coming out of the sky. "It looked almost like three rockets joined together with their tails pointing towards the Earth." It was travelling so fast he did not even have time to say to others in the group: "Hey, have a look at this." Ms Scott said it was just like a shooting star. "It was very silvery; like a sparkler glittering." Sean O'Connell of Wanaka and his golfing partner saw the object passing over Mt Roy where "it seemed to splutter out".
"Definitely bright; had a sparkly, fiery trail, and some smoke." Mr O'Connell said the object, which he assumed was a meteor, seemed to "fizz" and was similar to a flare but higher and faster. The superintendent of the University of Canterbury's Mt John Observatory, Alan Gilmore, said that from the descriptions the object was likely to have been a "daylight meteor". "They are pretty rare because they have got to be exceedingly bright to be seen." Mr Gilmore could recall just two previous occasions when daylight meteors were reported in New Zealand - one in Hawkes Bay in 1971. The brief and "sparkly" appearance of the object supported the idea it was a meteor.
"They are very fast and so generally you don't see them for much longer than a second, unless they are on a very low trajectory." Mr Gilmore said meteors were falling all of the time but to have been visible, the one on Sunday would have been bigger than usual. He said at a "wild guess" it could have been as big as a baseball to begin with but would have burnt out before hitting the ground. "If the same thing had happened at night time it would have been quite spectacular. It would have lit up the whole countryside." - NZ Herald.
Bosnia 'Meteor' Intrigues New Generation In Wake Of Russia Strike.
A mysterious rock at a quarry in central Bosnia has seen a spike in
visitors in the wake of the meteor explosion over Russia last week.
A few years back, workers in a stone quarry in Kostajnica dug out a
massive, rusty, egg-shaped rock that locals believe is a meteorite. Quarry owner Dimitrije Tatic said the tale of the falling rock had been
passed down from generation to generation in this small Bosnian town.
"They believed that it fell off the moon," he said.
"It was so hot that it was impossible to approach and when it fell all the houses in the vicinity collapsed too," he added.
The rock is estimated to weigh some seven tonnes.
"People come every second, every third day, mostly scientists and school children. They are curious about it," Tatic said.
The meteor - estimated to weigh about 10 tonnes - entered the Earth's
atmosphere at a hypersonic speed of at least 33,000 mph and shattered
into pieces about 18 to 32 miles above the ground, the Russian Academy
of Sciences said in a statement.
The astonishing event blew out windows in more than four thousand
buildings in the region, mostly in the regional capital Chelyabinsk.
Scientists have yet to dismiss nor verify the nature of the Bosnian rock. - Telegraph.
WATCH: Bosnia 'meteor' intrigues new generation.
Bright Blue Fireball Over Latvia Caught On All-Sky Cameras.
According to Andris Bieznis, Latvian Centre of meteorites recorded on
Wednesday at midnight a meteor fall in the Gulf of Riga in Latvia.
According to Andris Bieznis in an interview with local radio station
"Baltcom", a witnesses saw the fall of the meteor, which was accompanied by an unusual bright of blue light and noise.
The meteor was observed in several regions of Latvia: Vidzeme, in the
central part of Latvia and in Zemgale in southern Latvia. It was also
observed in Finland on a surveillance camera of the University
Observatory. - Hainanwel.
WATCH: Meteorite falls into the Gulf of Riga in Latvia.
If you saw a flash of light in the sky Thursday night, you were hardly alone.
Dozens of Eyewitness News viewers reported seeing a blazing-bright meteor fly through the sky around 10:30 p.m.
Viewer Simon Crask sent us a photo he snapped with a low-light camera in Anaheim. The meteor could be seen on the left.
Sightings were reported all around the Southland, including in Los
Angeles, Alhambra, Burbank, Malibu, Pasadena, Culver City, Santa
Clarita, Garden Grove, Costa Mesa and Ventura.
Many people took to Twitter to describe what they saw. Viewer Trina
Megumi said she was driving on the 60 Freeway in Pomona when she saw a
bright blue light that appeared to be coming down from the sky. - KABC.
March 01, 2013 - RUSSIA - The meteor that exploded over the steppes of southwestern Russia sent a
low-frequency rumble bouncing through the Earth, giving scientists new
clues about the biggest cosmic intruder in a century.
The big boom over Chelyabinsk on February 15 also produced a wave of
sound thousands of times lower than a piano's middle C -- far below the
range of human hearing, according to the international agency that
watches for nuclear bomb tests. The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization said that sound wave showed up on sensors from Greenland to Antarctica, making it the largest ever detected by its network.
Scientists then used that wave to calculate the size of the small
asteroid that plunged to Earth, said Margaret Campbell-Brown, an
astronomer at Canada's University of Western Ontario.
The duration of the wave -- about 32 seconds -- let scientists estimate
the energy of the blast at between 450 and 500 kilotons, the size of
about 30 early nuclear bombs. From there, Brown said, they could calculate the size of the fireball;
and using an estimate of the meteor's speed from the numerous dashboard and mobile-phone cameras that captured the scene, it was "first-year physics" to figure out the approximate size and weight, she said.
The latest estimate is that the Chelyabinsk meteor was about 56 feet (17
meters) across, weighed more than 700,000 tons and was moving about 18
kilometers per second (40,000 mph) when it blew apart, she said. "In terms of things we have observed, this is the
largest since Tunguska," Brown said, referring to the suspected meteor
that flattened a Siberian forest in 1908.
The nuclear test monitors pick up "infrasound", or low frequency, waves
from about 20 meteors a year -- "if conditions are right, perhaps as
small as a pea," she said.
Russian authorities say more than 1,500 people
were hurt, mostly by flying glass, when the Chelyabinsk meteor exploded
in spectacular fashion. Amateur video footage showed a bright white
streak moving rapidly across the sky before exploding with an even
brighter flash and a deafening bang.
Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, said scientists
believe the object originated in the asteroid belt between Mars and
Jupiter. It was the Apollo group of asteroids, which circle the sun in
oblong orbits, that occasionally cross Earth's.
Cooke said scientists expect to study the Chelyabinsk event for months.
But the dozens of fragments that have been found so far point to a
fairly common, stony asteroid with traces of nickel and iron.
"The composition is not at all unusual as far as meteorites go," he said. "It was just very big." - CNN.
Russian Meteor's Origin And Size Pinned Down?
A meteor that exploded over Russia earlier this month likely hit Earth
after a long trip from beyond the orbit of Mars, scientists say.
Astronomers and the public were caught off guard by the Russian fireball,
which damaged thousands of buildings and wounded more than 1,000 people
when it detonated over the city of Chelyabinsk on Feb. 15.
But some YouTube-aided detective work suggests that the meteor's parent body belonged to the Apollo family of Earth-crossing asteroids,
whose elliptical orbits take them farther than one Earth-sun distance
(about 93 million miles, or 150 million kilometers) from our star at
some point, researchers said.
Jorge Zuluaga and Ignacio Ferrin of the University of Antioquia in
Medellin, Colombia, reached this conclusion after analyzing several
videos of the Russian meteor, especially one taken in Chelyabinsk's
Revolutionary Square and another recorded in the nearby city of Korkino.
They also took into account the location of a hole in the ice of Lake
Chebarkul, about 43 miles (70 km) from Chelyabinsk. Scientists think the
hole was caused by a piece of the space rock that hit Earth on Feb. 15.
Using trigonometry, Zuluaga and Ferrin calculated basic elements of the fireball's path through Earth's atmosphere.
WATCH: Russia meteor fragment found.
"According to our estimations, the Chelyabinski meteor
started to brighten up when it was between 32 and 47 km up in the
atmosphere," they write in their paper, which has been posted to the
online astronomy preprint site ArXiv.org. "The velocity of the body
predicted by our analysis was between 13 and 19 km/s (relative to the
Earth) which encloses the preferred figure of 18 km/s assumed by other
researchers."
The pair then entered these figures into a software program developed by
the United States Naval Observatory called NOVAS (short for Naval
Observatory Vector Astrometry), which calculated the likely orbit of the
meteor's parent body.
Some other scientists agree that this orbit took the space rock
relatively far from the sun at times - farther than Mars, in fact.
WATCH: Russia meteor explosion.
"It came from the asteroid belt,
about 2.5 times farther from the sun than Earth," Bill Cooke, of NASA's
Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala., said in a statement. Cooke was not involved in Zuluaga
and Ferrin's study.
Meanwhile, the size of the meteor's parent object has come into clearer
focus, thanks to measurements made by a global network of infrasound
sensors operated by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization
(CTBTO). These sensors monitor extremely low-frequency sound waves,
which are a common product of nuclear explosions. As the Russian meteor burned through Earth's atmosphere, it generated
the most powerful infrasound signal ever detected by the CTBTO network,
researchers said. And this signal revealed a great deal about the
asteroid's size, speed and explosive power.
"The asteroid was about 17 meters in diameter and weighed approximately
10,000 metric tons," Peter Brown, a physics professor at the University
of Western Ontario in Canada, said in a statement. "It struck Earth's
atmosphere at 40,000 mph and broke apart about 12 to 15 miles above
Earth's surface. The energy of the resulting explosion exceeded 470
kilotons of TNT." That's 30 to 40 times more powerful than the atomic bomb the United
States dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during World War II.
The Russian fireball likely produced the most powerful such space rock
blast since a 130-foot (40 m) object exploded over Siberia in 1908,
flattening 825 square miles (2,137 square km) of forest. Preliminary reports suggest that the Chelyabinsk fireball's parent
asteroid was composed primarily of stone, with a smidge of iron thrown
in. "In other words, [it's] a typical asteroid from beyond the orbit of Mars," Cooke said. "There are millions more just like it." The Russian meteor struck just hours before the 130-foot asteroid 2012
DA14 gave Earth a close shave, missing our planet by just 17,200 miles
(27,000 km). But the two space rocks are unrelated, researchers say,
making Feb. 15 a day of remarkable cosmic coincidences.
Over 100 Meteorites Found From Russian Meteor Explosion.
2.2-pound fragment of Russian meteor. Credit: The Russian Academy of Sciences.
Scientists say they have recovered the largest fragment yet found,
weighing about 2.2 pounds, of the meteor that exploded over Russia Feb.
15.
It's the largest of more than 100 meteorite fragments that have been
found by an expedition from the Urals Federal University searching along
a 30-mile trail along the object's flight path, expedition leader
Viktor Grokhovsky told RIA Novosti Monday.
Many fragments have been found in a 25-foot-wide crater in the frozen ice of the region's Lake Chebarkul. When the massive meteor streaked across the sky over the Russian city of
Chelyabinsk and exploded, it damaged buildings and injured more than
1,500 people, most of whom were hurt by flying glass as windows exploded
from the meteor's shock wave. Researchers at NASA have estimated the meteor was about 50 feet in
diameter and entered the Earth's atmosphere over Russia's Urals region
at several times the speed of sound. - UPI.
New Video Of Russian Meteorite Emerges.
New amateur video of the meteorite that exploded over Russia's Ural
mountains emerges as scientists discuss possibility of global
asteroid-warning system. Jessica Gray reports. New footage of a meteorite exploding across the sky over the Russian
region of Cheliabinsk near the Ural mountains. Amateur videos continue
to emerge days after the meteorite struck the area, damaging buildings,
shattering glass and sending more than 1,000 to hospital with cuts and
scrapes.
Search teams have descended on Lake Cherbarkul, where the meteorite
crashed Friday, to look for remains, but have been unable to find any
large pieces so far. Residents have also joined the search and claim to
have found a few fragments themselves.
The Russian space agency said the fireball was travelling 30 km per
second and although it did not kill anyone, the meteorite caused around
$33 million in damage. This prompted scientists on Monday to discuss the
possibility of an early warning system for the planet that would
encompass telescopes and anti-asteroid missiles.
(Russian) VLADIMIR LIPUNOV, HEAD OF THE SPACE MONITORING LABORATORY WITH MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITY, SAYING:
"How many telescopes do we need? That depends on the field of view. It
is now possible to build telescopes of 4 to 8 square degrees. We need 10
to 20 telescopes around the Earth, dozens of them."
NASA estimates the meteorite was 17 metres across and weighed about
10,000 tonnes before entering Earth's atmosphere and exploding with
nuclear bomb force.
WATCH: New video of Russian meteorite emerges.
WATCH: The following video is a compilation of people's reactions to the initial flash and shockwave damage from the exploding Russian meteor, compiled from University of Chelyabinsk CCTV footage.
February 26, 2013 - RUSSIA - A professional photographer today told of the moment he feared a nuclear bomb had gone off when the Russian meteorite tore through the sky as he took pictures of an idyllic rural scene.
Marat Akhmetaleyev, 31, had just set up his tripod when the space rock lit up the crisp, morning sky almost where his camera was pointing.
Despite trembling with shock, he instinctively started to snap away.
Atomic angst: This incredible picture o0f the Russian meteorite was
taken by professional photographer Marat Akhmetaleyev who feared it was a
nuclear bomb.
Shocking: Despite trembling with fear, Mr Akhmetaleyev instinctively started snapping away as the space rock lit up the sky.
Trail of destruction: The 100,000-tonne space rock blitzes through the air before exploding with the force of 30 Hiroshima bombs.
Right time, right place: Mr Akhmetaleyev had gone out to shoot some
idyllic rural scenes when the meteorite blasted into view just where his
camera was pointing.
He told the Siberian Times:
‘When the flash was as bright as possible, I felt strong heat in my
face and strong pain in my eyes of intolerable glare. It lasted just a
split second.
‘My thoughts were confused and spontaneous. The first thing I thought was not a meteorite, but a nuclear bomb.
‘Then I remembered the media reports about a possible asteroid and
its approach to the Earth. Then there was the idea that a plane had
crashed.’
Around two minutes after the flash, Mr Akhmetaleyev said he heard a
series of ‘clear and powerful’ blasts as the meteorite exploded with the
force of 30 Hiroshima bombs.
Devastation: The meteorite exploded over Russia’s Ural Mountains on
Friday, injuring nearly 1,500 people and causing widespread property
damage in city of Chelyabinsk.
Terrifying: Around two minutes after the flash, Mr Akhmetaleyev said he
heard a series of ‘clear and powerful’ explosions as the meteorite
plunged into the ground.
Capturing chaos: Mr Akhmetaleyev, who stood there ‘stunned’ for quite some afterwards, has now released his incredible pictures.
Stunning: A montage of all the images taken by Marat Akhmetaleyev of the meteorite as it hurtled over the Russian sky.
He added: ‘Immediately after that there was a series of bombings over
the pine forest, a large number of birds rose up and flew in all
directions.
‘My heartbeat, breathing, and hand tremors only got worse. The shock was even bigger’.
Mr Akhmetaleyev, who stood there ‘stunned’ for quite some afterwards, has now released his incredible pictures.
The 100,000-tonne meteorite exploded over Russia’s Ural Mountains on
Friday, injuring nearly 1,500 people and causing widespread property
damage in city of Chelyabinsk.
The debris narrowly missed a direct and devastating hit on the
industrial city which has a population of 1.13 million but spread panic
through its streets as the sky above lit up with a blinding flash.
Ice hole: The meteor left this 50ft hole in a frozen lake on the outskirts of Chelyabinsk, in the Urals.
Disaster: Some of the destruction caused by the meteor which exploded with the force of 30 Hiroshima bombs.
Measuring around 55 feet in diameter, scientists claim it is the biggest space rock to have hit earth in more than a century.
It created a huge hole in a frozen lake when it crashed into the ground.
Scientists have found more than 50 tiny fragments of the meteor, allowing them to uncover information about its contents.
But local residents have been more interested in the black market
value of the fragments since the dramatic incident, as a ‘gold mine’ has
been kickstarted fior the valuable pieces.
As they search for their own pieces of the meteor, rocks have already
been put on the internet for sale, and police are warning all
purchasers to prepare for possible fraud. - Daily Mail.
WATCH: Compilation of the dramatic meteor explosion.
February 22, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Several Southland residents late Thursday reported witnessing a bright light zoom across the sky.
Dozens of sky watchers told the American Meteor Society that they saw
the fire ball. People in Ventura, Anaheim, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, Paso
Robles, San Francisco and Santa Barbara posted on the group's website.
In an email to NBC4 News, Laguna Hills resident Patric Barry said he
spotted the meteor out of his living room window at about 10:35 p.m.
"I saw a light and looked directly at the meteor as it came down in the
ocean off Corona Del Mar. Bits came off, and it was bright white," he
wrote.
The sightings come days after Bay Area residents were treated to a light show of their own when a fireball was seen streaking across the sky. - NBC Los Angeles.
Copper Green Fireball Streaks Straight Down Over California - February 21, 2013.
21 February 2013 - Brittney Mcconnell, Pleasanton, CA 22:30 PST
Between 5-10 seconds duration. Lime green color with orange trail. Sun
white hot in brightness but also lime green. No fragmentation observed,
just the flaming trail behind it. It wasn't heading straight down but
angled at about 30 degrees. I estimate that it landed in the
Pleasanton/Sunol area.
21 February 2013 - Mark S. Dobkin, Costa Mesa, CA USA, Approx. 22:30 PST
2-3 seconds duration - I was facing West. East-West direction. Bright
white ball of fire, then broke up. I was stationary in my car, so did
not hear any sound. As bright as moon, but not as large. Considerably
larger than Venus. Fragmentation observed. Fairly large. One of the
largest I have seen.
21 February 2013 - Chloe Michaels, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA 10:30 PST
2-3 seconds duration. I could only view it from my window. North-West
direction. It was a white ball and streak of light, with a tail. As
bright as the moon.
21 February 2013 - Kris, Los Angeles, CA 22:50
2/3 seconds duration. North-West direction. Green color, as bright as Venus. I'm curious as to what that was.
21 February 2013 - Jasmine Brown, Los Angeles, CA, U.S. 22:35
7 seconds duration. I was facing West. It went from orange color to
bright blue, heading straight down. I couldn't hear any sound. The piece
itself looked as though it came off of something. It went so fast, I
was pulling out of the parallel driving spot to head for work. I turned
and went the other way in case it hit the ground. I've seen a few fly
across but this was heading straight to the ground without disappearing
in mid-air.
21 February 2013 - Nick Bishop, Sacramento, CA, United States, Approx 22:50
2 seconds duration. I was looking south in a vehicle. Meteor started at
approx 165 degrees and moved nearly directly vertically downwards. Maybe
5 degrees of horizontal movement to the west. Green (exact color of
burning copper), with orange/red debris trailing behind, which rapidly
(1/4 second) burnt out. Brighter than the Sun, less bright than the
moon. Very rapid movement, hard to judge size but it seemed to be quite
small. Object totally disintegrated before reaching the horizon.
21 February 2013 - Joe, Fresno, CA, USA 22:31 PST
3 seconds duration. I was driving, traveling west. I was looking
forward, but something suddenly caught the corner of my eye out my
driver's side window, which was facing outward south. The meteor
appeared to be coming from the east/southeast, headed west/northwest.
Fluorescent green, no noise. As bright as the moon. There didn't appear
to be any fragmentation. It had a long tail. Very large object,
equivalent to approximately 1/6 the size of the moon.
Early Morning Meteor Blazes Over Maine, Maryland And Massachusetts - February 21, 2013.
21 February 2013 - Charlene Libby, Buxton, Maine USA 3:54 EST
2-3 seconds duration. Southeast/Southwest direction. I was facing
Southwest. It was green, with no noise and as bright as Venus. It had a
visible long tail.
21 February 2013 - Robert Ahti, Seabrook, New Hampshire, USA 3:50 EST
5 seconds duration. The meteor was heading in a southwesterly direction.
I was facing west. It was green. I'd say it was of medium brightness.
It was very large compared to shooting stars I've seen over my years.
21 February 2013 - Vinny, Westford, Massachusetts, USA 3:45 EST
2/3 seconds duration. I was facing Southeast. It was bright white with a
tail. I reckon it was the size of a basketball. I'd say it was as
bright as Venus. I've seen shooting stars but this one was very large
and amazing to see. As it went beyond the tree line you could still see
the brightness.
21 February 2013 - Paul L., Weymouth, MA, U.S.A 3:50 EST
3 seconds duration. East to West direction. Bright yellow color, brighter than the Moon. My first :)
21 February 2013 - Robert Dahler, Baltimore City, Maryland, USA 3:54 EST
3-4 seconds duration. It went overhead from south to north. I was facing
Northwest. It was green to blue in color, no sound on this one.
Brighter than Venus, and a bit larger than a softball. Saw one as a kid,
in '78 or '79 about the size of a small car wheel with the sound of a
1000 sparklers tied together.
The Florida meteor, sighted just before 6 p.m., was also tiny, experts told The Florida Times-Union.
But Thomas Webber, director of the Museum of Science and History's Bryan-Gooding Planetarium, said meteors and smaller meteorites strike the Earth "every hour of every day," so they're not rare.
But Sunday's sighting, though small, was bigger than most.
"This one wasn't grain-of-sand size, which what most of them are," Webber said to The Florida Times-Union.
"When we get something a little bigger, that maybe has a silicate coating that ablates off as it travels though the atmosphere and takes some of the heat with it, they can appear much brighter and last a lot longer."
Thirty people reported Sunday night's meteor on the "Fireball Log" at www.amsmeteors.org, with comments ranging from "I saw flames coming from it as it was falling" from a Delray Beach resident to "Was scared" from a Miami resident. Only one Jacksonville sighting appeared on the site. Several people called Coast Guard stations, including at Mayport, the paper reported.
After the Russian meteor made headlines across the world, Webber said people may be a bit on edge.
"There's an awareness and there might be a little trepidation now," Webber told The Florida Times-Union. "People are a little on edge. When something is on our mind, we tend to see it more." - Traveler's Today.
Mystery 'Loud Booms' Felt, Heard Over The Midlands, South Carolina - February 20, 2013.
News19 has gotten multiple reports of loud booms in Several Midlands neighborhoods.
The reports began coming in around 3:45 p.m. Wednesday.
We heard from worried residents in Sumter, Wedgefield, Manning, and Bishopville. The noise was so loud that windows rattled and homes shook.
Reports also came out of Summerton, Eastover, Mayesville, and Sandy Run.
We made several calls to try and find out what caused the sounds, and the State Emergecny Management Agency says it wasn't an earthquake.
Shaw Air Force Base hasn't reported any unusual flying activity and the Lynn Douglas with the Columbia Airport says she knows of no sonic booms in the Midlands. - WLTX.
Separate Daytime Fireball Recorded Just 250km West Of Chelyabinsk, 4 Days Before Massive Overhead Explosion In Russia.
Online video of an unusual phenomenon in the sky, filmed from the
highway between Ufa and Orenburg. The the video was shot last night,
February 11, 2013, near the village of Bulgakovo in the Ufa area.
"This was a bright, luminous body, visible for long distances," said
Professor Ufu, RU director of the Ufa "Planetarium", Anatoly Denisov.
Have not been able to determine to what meteor shower this bolide
belonged. It is possible that it did not belong to any particular
shower; such fireballs are sporadic. - PROUFU.
WATCH: Meteorite fall on the road P-314'''' Ufa and Orenburg.
Dramatic Video Captures The Moment Sonic Boom From Russian Meteor Terrifies Schoolchildren By Smashing Windows Of Sports Hall.
Schoolchildren pictured practicing their karate moves on each other - Seconds later sonic boom from meteor smashes windows of hall - Children cover their ears with hands and run away in terror It was a terrifying moment which left nearly 1,500 people injured and caused more than £20 million worth of damage. But few images have been able to capture just how much every day life was turned upside down following the enormous Russian meteor than this video. These pictures show young Russian schoolchildren practicing their karate moves on each other in a sports hall, completely unaware that their day was about to be completely transformed. As they continue with their class in Chelyabinsk, a sudden change of light can be seen through the large windows on the left of the picture. Seconds later, the windows of the sports hall completely blow out - resulting in the school children running away in complete terror.
Many place their hands to their ears as they run for cover. Their instructors look towards the windows in horror. It is believed the windows were smashed out after a sonic boom - which was the sound of the shock waves created by the meteor traveling through the air faster than the speed of sound. The meteor injured nearly 1,500 people and caused widespread property damage in Chelyabinsk on Friday, with health officials yesterday saying that 46 of the injured remain hospitalised. The debris narrowly missed a direct and devastating hit on the industrial city which has a population of 1.13 million but spread panic through its streets as the sky above lit up with a blinding flash. Scientists yesterday claimed the meteor is the biggest space rock to have hit earth in more than a century.
The 100,000 tonne rock, measuring around 55 feet in diameter, created a huge hole in a frozen lake when it crashed into the ground. As it raced through the sky, the 50-foot wide chunk of space rock compressed the air ahead of it, creating the enormous temperatures that meant it exploded in a fireball somewhere between 18 and 32 miles above the ground at around 9.20am local time on Friday. Although some debris fell to earth, 'whipping up a pillar of ice, water and steam' and creating a 20-foot-wide crater, the damage in nearby towns was actually caused by shockwaves created by the meteor breaking the sound barrier and then exploding. Scientists have found more than 50 tiny fragments of the meteor, allowing them to uncover information about its contents. Local residents have been more interested in the black market value of the fragments since the dramatic incident, as a 'gold mine' has been kickstarted for the valuable pieces. As they search for their own pieces of the meteor, rocks have already been put on the internet for sale, and police are warning all purchasers to prepare for possible fraud. Paul Chodas of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office said: 'We would expect an event of this magnitude to occur once every 100 years.' He told the Wall Street Journal: 'When you have a fireball of this size we would expect a large number of meteorites to reach the surface and in this case there were probably some large ones.'
Viktor Grokhovsky, who led the expedition from Urals Federal University, said that 53 fragments of the meteor have been plucked from the ice-covered Chebarkul Lake. He said they are less than a centimeter (half an inch) in size, about 10 per cent iron, and belong to the chondrite type, the most common variation of meteorites found on Earth. Divers inspecting the lake have found nothing at the bottom, but Mr Grokhovsky said a fragment as large as 50-60 centimeters (20-24 inches) could eventually be found there. Workers in the city remained busy replacing acres of windows shattered by a powerful shockwave caused by the meteor's strike, which NASA said released 500 kilotons of energy, the power equivalent to more than 30 Hiroshima bombs. The local governor estimated the damage at 1 billion rubles (£21.5million) and said he hopes the federal government will provide at least half that amount. On Saturday, divers searched the waters beneath the ice for traces of space rock but surfaced empty handed, leaving some experts questioning whether the hole was indeed formed by a piece of falling debris. - Daily Mail.
WATCH: Dramatic dash cam footage of meteorite explosion.
Daytime Fireball Breaks Up Over Brazil - February 20, 2013.
Dr. Marcelo Souza, professor of physics in Campos Dos Goytacazes, called
me and reported that witnesses had just seen this event from Campos Dos
Goytacazes, Vitoria, and Cabo Frio, in Rio de Janeiro State, Brasil
approximately 20 minutes prior. It has now been confirmed that there
was a single bolide seen by many persons in north Rio de Janeiro State,
Brasil.
Campos Dos Goytacazes Brasil Sentinel Allsky Network is currently checking for video capture.
Dirk Ross, LunarMeteorite*Hunter, Tokyo, Japan, Dr. Marcelo Souza,
IFF-R.J. and Sentinel Allsky established the Brasil Allsky Network, the
FIRST in South America, last year.
Ross says, "This event, along with the recent Russia and other large
events demonstrates that Brasil needs to take the threat of an asteroid
impact more seriously and expand the Brasil Allsky Network nationwide
for detection".
Ross is hoping that Sao Paulo State will soon establish the second network.
"I saw today at 1312 UTC, in victory, es, a metero across the sky, north
to south. The meteor was seen by about 5 seconds for me. More 4
witnesses who were at the scene also spotted. One witnesses who saw a
little before, must have seen it for about 12 seconds before it
disintegrates in the atmosphere.
What I saw was basically a trail illuminated, yellow, streaking
across the sky in a downward trend and disintegrating completely. "
Verified by Dr. Marcelo Souza - Name of eyewitness withheld as requested.
Marcelo de Oliveira Souza
D.Sc. in Physics - Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense
Louis Cruls Astronomy Club General Coordinator
Astronomers Without Borders National Coordinator in Brazil
UNAWE Program Coordinator in Brazil
Sidewalk Astronomers - Brazil National Contact
StarPeace Ambassador in Brazil
Another Witness:
20 February 2013 - "John"JB, Campos Basin, Brazil @ 10:30 approx local time
4-5 seconds duration. North to South direction. Orange colour. As bright as the Sun. Fragmentation: 3 or 4 large pieces.
I did not note the time, but between 09:30 and 10:30 local time. Ship
position: 22 - 09.0 S, 039 - 57.1 W. I was looking directly West and saw
the whole event.
