Huge fireball seen Friday 21 sept...

MikesAstro

Hi, I work for the American Meteor Society and we have received dozens of reports on this event. We have plotted all of the reports in an interactive google map you can see here:
http://www.amsmeteors.org/2012/09/fireball-over-the-u-k-and-ireland-september-21-2012/

If you saw this event, please report it to the AMS here:
http://www.amsmeteors.org/fireball2/form2.php

Walkman

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laros

€1.01 per MB as per this link

...... ?????

MikesAstro

MikesAstro wrote: »

Hi, I work for the American Meteor Society and we have received dozens of reports on this event. We have plotted all of the reports in an interactive google map you can see here:
http://www.amsmeteors.org/2012/09/fireball-over-the-u-k-and-ireland-september-21-2012/

If you saw this event, please report it to the AMS here:
http://www.amsmeteors.org/fireball2/form2.php

Bloody fordiners, coming over here and stealing our meteors...

MikesAstro

i think the meteors probably landed in the ocean, but we get a lot of fireball reports on our site from countries outside the US. I thought you guys would like to see the maps so you could get an idea of where this thing came from and where it landed.

Super Freak

Being the first to report this "event" on boards , and taking the normal naming convention into consideration....

Do I get to name the meteor:D ??? Assuming that's what it was and not space debris.

Knifey Spoony

I'm going absolutley mad that I missed this. I was hoping that I would have been too far south (Cork City) to see this which would have been some comfort, but after reading on this thread that it was spotted here I'm really gutted that I missed it. Hopefully, I'll manage to spot one of these sometime.

Kovu

Most of the images/videos appear to be from Dublin/midlands area. It looked really different when it crossed our house. It was split into 9/10 separate balls and was wavering like a snake over us, appeared to be very close. Could also hear a whooshing noise as it passed over, it took at least 20 sec's to pass over and then we watched it disappear into the distance.

zenno

The video capture from RTE news looked very strange for a meteor i have to say, i never seen one fly across the sky in a stable motion like that before and i have seen hundreds of them since day 1 that i can remember. UFO'S are usually seen prior or just after meteor strikes and has been recorded worldwide but who know's, maybe, something is deflecting them constantly ? if you think that's weird, look into the electron that's weirder but mathematically true.

On a lighter note...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3zTuAPx5CY

bucks73

Cracking pic taken at the Cliffs of Moher the other night.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=388645224538976&set=a.223193854417448.52085.223011774435656&type=1&theater

slade_x

zenno wrote: »

The video capture from RTE news looked very strange for a meteor i have to say,

I am not exactly sure as to what you are insinuating. All amateur footage aired by RTE so far did not look very stange for a meteor. in fact it was pretty consistent for such a sighting

zenno wrote: »

i never seen one fly across the sky in a stable motion like that before

That is exactly how anything falling uncontrollably through the atmosphere would behave, even when breaking up, ejecta behave the same. what kind of meteors or any falling debris do you claim have unstable motions? You will never see a long exposure of a meteor trail that is not in a straight line, for eg.



How would you describe the path an apple takes as it fails uncontrollably from a tree? stable or unstable?

zenno wrote: »

UFO'S are usually seen prior or just after meteor strikes and has been recorded worldwide but who know's, maybe, something is deflecting them constantly ?

The claims for ufo's never cease to amaze me whatever about the unidentified status but to presume something one can not identify is actually flying is completely irrational. Meteors are one of the most common ufo's reported by the general public so the claim ufos are observed with a meteor is a very strange one indeed.

And finally that video is clearly a fake. why post such a video?

zenno

slade_x wrote: »

I am not exactly sure as to what you are insinuating. All amateur footage aired by RTE so far did not look very stange for a meteor. in fact it was pretty consistent for such a sighting



That is exactly how anything falling uncontrollably through the atmosphere would behave, even when breaking up, ejecta behave the same. what kind of meteors or any falling debris do you claim have unstable motions? You will never see a long exposure of a meteor trail that is not in a straight line, for eg.



How would you describe the path an apple takes as it fails uncontrollably from a tree? stable or unstable?



The claims for ufo's never cease to amaze me whatever about the unidentified status but to presume something one can not identify is actually flying is completely irrational. Meteors are one of the most common ufo's reported by the general public so the claim ufos are observed with a meteor is a very strange one indeed.

And finally that video is clearly a fake. why post such a video?

What I was saying is.. the lights from this so-called meteor seemed to last the longest time travelling across the sky from that video capture and they didn't seem to burn out as they normally would in seconds..this is why i thought it was strange as every meteor or space junk i seen now and in the past shows that they burn out very fast but those 6 or so lights crossing the sky seemed to be stable as in not burning out or flickering out that's all i mean.

Also the reason why i put the youtube link on the previous page was just having a sense of humour, i hope people are still capable of having one because if we didn't it would be too serious all the time.

All the meteors i have seen over the last few decades always burned out fast in seconds and i seen some big ones but that video from RTE looked too relaxed and stable without the quick burnout i always noticed, but hey, i'm no expert but it just looked strange from that camera capture and if it was taken from a different angle with a better quality capture then it might not look like that. anywho, always have a sense of humour and try not to be too serious.

But don't get me wrong, i was an avid astronomer myself way back and even had dinner and a conversation with patrick moore in the RDS way way back so i'm not taking the mick on astronomy or the UFO, i just enjoy the open-mindedness

shizz

zenno wrote: »

slade_x wrote: »

I am not exactly sure as to what you are insinuating. All amateur footage aired by RTE so far did not look very stange for a meteor. in fact it was pretty consistent for such a sighting



That is exactly how anything falling uncontrollably through the atmosphere would behave, even when breaking up, ejecta behave the same. what kind of meteors or any falling debris do you claim have unstable motions? You will never see a long exposure of a meteor trail that is not in a straight line, for eg.



How would you describe the path an apple takes as it fails uncontrollably from a tree? stable or unstable?



The claims for ufo's never cease to amaze me whatever about the unidentified status but to presume something one can not identify is actually flying is completely irrational. Meteors are one of the most common ufo's reported by the general public so the claim ufos are observed with a meteor is a very strange one indeed.

And finally that video is clearly a fake. why post such a video?

What I was saying is.. the lights from this so-called meteor seemed to last the longest time travelling across the sky from that video capture and they didn't seem to burn out as they normally would in seconds..this is why i thought it was strange as every meteor or space junk i seen now and in the past shows that they burn out very fast but those 6 or so lights crossing the sky seemed to be stable as in not burning out or flickering out that's all i mean.

Also the reason why i put the youtube link on the previous page was just having a sense of humour, i hope people are still capable of having one because if we didn't it would be too serious all the time.

All the meteors i have seen over the last few decades always burned out fast in seconds and i seen some big ones but that video from RTE looked too relaxed and stable without the quick burnout i always noticed, but hey, i'm no expert but it just looked strange from that camera capture and if it was taken from a different angle with a better quality capture then it might not look like that. anywho, always have a sense of humour and try not to be too serious.

But don't get me wrong, i was an avid astronomer myself way back and even had dinner and a conversation with patrick moore in the RDS way way back so i'm not taking the mick on astronomy or the UFO, i just enjoy the open-mindedness

I think you have to take into account that it was moving an awful lot slower than what meteors usually travel at. I really think it was a satellite or some big space junk. The slower speed and bigger size will mean it will burn for a longer time.

wil

slade_x wrote: »

I am not exactly sure as to what you are insinuating. All amateur footage aired by RTE so far did not look very stange for a meteor. in fact it was pretty consistent for such a sighting
......?

Would you care to elaborate.
From this amateurs eyes it didn't seem consistent with your typical meteorite of which I've seen many. It was too slow, too long lasting, traversed the sky with the same straight trajectory as a jet, orange colour, multiple distinct parts with parallel paths.
The RTE video in Dublin was as I saw it. Seemed to cross the country, Dublin to Cliffs of Moher in about 6 minutes but still pretty much the same as when I saw it.
Over the UK it seems to have been much more compact.
Is it not more likely to be low lying space junk despite the direction not being consistent with other manmade debris?

Just wanted to add, looked at the crystal clear skies last night, : milky way, galaxies, nebulae, planets, stars, moon etc. When did it all become so mundane:rolleyes:;)

phayeser

salmonkat wrote: »

yeah it was incredibly slow. I am still mesmerized! It was too magical, nothing man-made could come close to it
@phayeser
how long were you observing it for ? did it just disappear ?

- we were looking at it for about the 20-30 seconds that it took to travel across our narrow perspective of the sky until it was obscured by buildings. Could have seen it for much longer were they not there, resisted the urge to run out after it:)

MJohnston

Isn't it *technically* called a UFO because that's exactly what it was, something unidentified that was probably an object and was flying? I know, I know, it's like Einstein's "god" in its confusing usage. UAP then?

Improbable

Saw a couple more just now!

shizz

Improbable wrote: »

Saw a couple more just now!

Shooting stars or large fireballs?

Improbable

shizz wrote: »

Shooting stars or large fireballs?

Too slow for shooting stars. Firebally type things.

A friend passed a link to this photo on to me. I'm not sure if it has been posted already, but in any case it's worth posting twice. It was taken in Tramore, I believe.

seven_eleven

Im so annoyed I missed it. I always seem to miss these and the only time I remember seeing one was back in summer 2010 when I was completely drunk. I saw what looked like a large green firework fall to the ground, but it was definitely a meteor.

30 minutes before the meteor I was actually up flying around in the darkness and I said to my friend "wouldnt it be awesome to see a meteor or strange lights", and we joked about those weird ufo sightings from planes. :mad:

Shakti

Does anyone know did they land or fall into the ocean or skirt away to another cosmic somewhere ?

MJohnston

gvn wrote: »

A friend passed a link to this photo on to me. I'm not sure if it has been posted already, but in any case it's worth posting twice. It was taken in Tramore, I believe.

I'm going to have to call fake on that photo unfortunately - the photo is taken pointed nearly directly west, which would make the trajectory of the fireball in the photo south or south west, when the majority of reports say they saw it heading almost directly east-to-west. Also, the fireball appeared to travel parallel to the horizon for most people and not "down".

Additionally the photo shows a cloudy night, when in fact the majority of the country was cloudless on Friday night, and anyway, it was estimated to have been around 80 miles up, so it would have been behind the clouds

MJohnston

MJohnston wrote: »

I'm going to have to call fake on that photo unfortunately - the photo is taken pointed nearly directly west, which would make the trajectory of the fireball in the photo south or south west, when the majority of reports say they saw it heading almost directly east-to-west. Also, the fireball appeared to travel parallel to the horizon for most people and not "down".

Additionally the photo shows a cloudy night, when in fact the majority of the country was cloudless on Friday night, and anyway, it was estimated to have been around 80 miles up, so it would have been behind the clouds

I suspect you might be right. When I first saw that image I thought it too good to be real, but wanted to believe it was real regardless.

Are there any estimates as to the greatest apparent magnitude it reached?

Allyall

Wow, i was just watching a few of the videos on youtube. Wished i had seen it.
It's mad that it all falls at the exact same speed, It just looks weird, you'd expect the lighter parts to fall at slower speed, but i guess because it entered at the same time, it's all at the same speed..

These videos seems to be the best.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RzsoYpt8WE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARNEW7eIEyY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-LWrvdN0qM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf75UUxPXtA

expectationlost

could they work back through obversations they've taken and see if they can spot before it hit?

Daffodil.d

Goin mad I missed this but judging from previous posts its seems to have been spotted all over the country which made me wonder how big was it. does anyone have any ideas?

thorbarry

any more news on this?

expectationlost

http://sattrackcam.blogspot.ie/

Technoprisoner

MJohnston wrote: »

I'm going to have to call fake on that photo unfortunately - the photo is taken pointed nearly directly west, which would make the trajectory of the fireball in the photo south or south west, when the majority of reports say they saw it heading almost directly east-to-west. Also, the fireball appeared to travel parallel to the horizon for most people and not "down".

Additionally the photo shows a cloudy night, when in fact the majority of the country was cloudless on Friday night, and anyway, it was estimated to have been around 80 miles up, so it would have been behind the clouds

gvn wrote: »

I suspect you might be right. When I first saw that image I thought it too good to be real, but wanted to believe it was real regardless.

Are there any estimates as to the greatest apparent magnitude it reached?

ok it might be fake but i believe it travelled north north east to south south west. look at the last video posted down the bottom here on rte http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0922/meteor-shower-reported-over-ireland.html

if you compare that to google maps it is heading north north east to south south west http://maps.google.ie/maps?hl=en&ll=53.312762,-6.201718&spn=0.005275,0.009645&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=53.312863,-6.201793&panoid=CutGdsmaKRrZT5zWCVWiCg&cbp=12,308.57,,0,3