Massive meteor?

kleefarr

I have just seen ( two mins ago) the largest meteor I have ever seen in 45 years!! :eek:

It came across from East to west, I thought it was a fire work is was so big and bright, but when it just disappeared without any noise I knew it was a meteor!

Anyone else see it?

It was amazing! :eek:

mike65

Nope! Dang.

Check the astronomy ireland website later.

http://www.astronomy.ie/fireball.html

kleefarr

Should I do a report?

(Did do anyway.)

kleefarr

Got this reply 00:05 after submitting a report...

I saw it from the Phoenix Park Uranus Watch (www.astronomy.ie/uranusmoon.html)
with several hundred people. Very impressive. Thanks for the report.


=====
David Moore BSc FRAS,

mike65

Cool (and it means you were'nt seeing things!)

Mike.

kleefarr

mike65 wrote:

Cool (and it means you were'nt seeing things!)

Mike.

lol

It had actually crossed my mind! Even though I was completely sober!

:rolleyes:

Snowbie

Yeah i posted the same on this forum awhile back about seeing one too.Never thought of posting on astronomy Ireland.
Funny thing is the fireball i saw went also from east to west and was very bright.

The Hill Billy

The whole "East to West" orientation got me thinking...
All four fireballs I've see (& most - but not all meteors) have been travelling in a generally east/west direction.
Would this have to do with the Earth's rotation?

The tax man

No point starting a new thread on the same subject but I'm just in from walking the dog and saw the best meteor in 30 odd years.;)

It was travelling North to South and lasted about 5 to 8 seconds.
It was a super bright white, as was the trail it left behind which was very very long and lasted longer then the usual trail you'd see right behind the meteor.
Both myself and some bloke across the road were glued to the sight of this and thinking.... :eek: :eek: :eek: !!!!

It almost reminded my of the footage of the space shuttle breaking up on re-entry or the meteor caught on tape in the U.S. at some football game.

Anyone else happen to see it?

kleefarr

Wow, that sounded great! Shame I missed it.

We are in for a firework should tomorrow apparently...

Astronomy Ireland says...

"On Wednesday 13 December, pieces of the Earth’s atmosphere will be bombarded by fragments of an asteroid. Astronomy Ireland will be assembling in the Phoenix Park, and many other locations nationwide to watch the event. The barrage has occurred at this time of year since 1860, but has steadily increased in intensity since then. The culprit, a 5km wide asteroid, was first discovered in 1983. 3200 Phaethon is in fact the asteroid that travels closest to the Sun. It will have a close shave itself with our planet on 14 December 2093, but for the next 80 years or so it’s chips of the old block that represent the biggest threat.

What we’ll see on Wednesday is a meteor shower that’s become known as the Geminids meteor shower, named after the constellation Gemini, from which these blazing bolides appear to originate. People looking up on Wednesday should expect to see bright streaks in the sky, up to one roughly every 20 to 30 seconds. These ‘shooting stars’ occur when pea-sized fragments slam into our atmosphere at 35 km per second, burning up at heights of 100km.

This is the best meteor shower of the year, with one or two blazing across the skies each minute. Many Geminid fireballs leave trains; a spectacular sight!"


I will be keeping a look out!

The tax man

Sounds good. Hope the skies are clear.
I sent off a report but didn't hear anything back.
At least I know my eyes weren't playing tricks cause the bloke across the road saw it too.:D

Flukey

I saw a fireball in August. A spectacular sight. As to the Geminids, like with any meteor shower, keep an eye out on the nights around it too. Tonight might be clearer than Wednesday.

kleefarr

More from Astronomy Ireland...

"There are Geminid Watches around Ireland this evening at 8pm don't forget - see www.astronomy.ie

Two major fireballs were seen on December 11, one may have been a Geminid and was seen all over Ireland and from Wales. If you saw it please fill out the "Report a Fireball" on www.astronomy.ie

After tonight please email a report of what you see of the Geminids to observe@astronomy.ie

All Geminid Watches will go ahead regardless of weather by the way. Our biggest Watch will be in Dublin at the Papal Cross car park in the Phoenix Park. All welcome. FREE."

Confirms the one you saw Taxman.

The tax man

kleefarr wrote:

Confirms the one you saw Taxman.

Cool.:) Hope the weather doesn't ruin things for you tonight.
Happy viewing.;)

kleefarr

The tax man wrote:

Cool.:) Hope the weather doesn't ruin things for you tonight.
Happy viewing.;)

So far it's a bit too cloudy. Will keep checking every so often.

The tax man

Well at least the clouds are moving along quite quickly. A good bit of night sky can be seen in between the clouds here.
I heard that someone was on the radio today talking about mondays sighting and about whats happening tonight.

kleefarr

Didn't see anything at all last night. Was always cloudy when I went to have a look.

Will there be any chance tonight I wonder?