*****UPDATE ON THE FIREBALL METEOR LAST NIGHT***** ...& NEXT FRIDAY NIGHT BRINGS A NEW LARGE METEOR SHOWER... OR POSSIBLE METEOR STORM?... People from as many as 10 states reported seeing the large fireball meteor which streaked across the sky late last night. In addition, folks in many West Virginia locations also reported sonic boom type explosion(s), and also the shaking and rattling of homes and windows across several counties. Depending on the resource page you view, you will still see differing opinions on trajectory of this event. Most pages are reporting the meteor (likely softball or basketball size) entered the atmosphere over South Carolina travelling northwest, and exploding or burning out over eastern TN. However, the AMS is reporting a trajectory from eastern KY to the east-northeast over southern OH and western WV. I am linking two leading pages with in depth reports in the comment section below. -----In addition... check out the video of the fireball captured by NASAs All Sky Fireball Network below! **METEOR SHOWER OF THE YEAR NEXT FRIDAY NIGHT???** I have mentioned this a couple of times through the last few weeks, and the brand new annual meteor shower, Camelopardalids, is beginning to get a LOT of buzz in recent days! This all thanks to Comet 209P/LINEAR and its leftover debris tails that Earth will pass through for the first time in history next Friday night. Forecasts of how many meteors per hour this will produce is still in debate as there is no past information to build from. An overall average from experts indicate 100-400 meteors per hour as the likely range, but also not discounting the chance of an actual Meteor Storm (1000/hr by definition)! For reference... the Perseids are considered one of the best of the annual showers, and usually averages up to 100 meteors per hour. Bottom line? This may be quite the sight, but us star gazers and photographers will just have to plan on getting outside Friday night to see what happens! BASIC INFORMATION: Best viewing on Earth: All of America and most of Canada Timing: Friday May 23rd after sunset and until sunrise on May24th with highest peak likely between 1am and 4am (but not absolute) Where to look: Basically... anywhere in America just look straight up and slightly northward! The radiant will be the constellation Camelopardalis... near the Big Dipper and Polaris. ***OVWA will be posting much more information on this event... and expected sky conditions for viewing through this week. Long term models currently have some agreement on much, or even most, of our region under clear skies next friday night... but stay tuned for updates! -Brian More information on the Camelopardalids... earthsky.org/space/comet-209p-linear-meteor-shower-storm-may-2014 usatoday/story/news/nation-now/2014/05/15/meteor-shower-meteor-storm-camelopardalid/9128245/ earthsky.org/space/comet-209p-linear-meteor-shower-storm-may-2014
Posted on: Sat, 17 May 2014 03:27:23 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015