Saturday, January 9, 2010
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Lincoln, Nebraska | Cosmic coincidence? Trooper reports fireball at same time as earthquake
December 17, 2009
If you happened to slip the word "missile" into your Web search for details about Wednesday's earthquake near Auburn, perhaps you came upon a tale of an intercepted Russian cruise missile, trained on Offutt Air Force Base, that exploded in the Nebraska sky at roughly the same time the ground began to shake.
Perhaps you noticed the 742-word story at www.whatdoesitmean.com quoted a Nebraska State Patrol trooper, Jerry Chab, who reportedly saw a fireball in the sky -- a fireball also seen from Oklahoma to Missouri -- at, coincidentally, the same time as the earthquake.
"Other reports from Nebraska further confirm Officer Chab's description of the downing of this nuclear armed cruise missile with the United States Geological Service," the whatdoesitmean.com story reads.
So, is the story a hoax? A sliver of insight into a diabolical cover-up? A little of this and a little of that?
This much is certain: Chab is a real Nebraska trooper, said spokeswoman Deb Collins.
He's also an amateur astronomer with a night job that takes him into the countryside, Collins said.
At about 9 p.m. Wednesday -- the earthquake was reported at 8:53 p.m., centered just north-northwest of Auburn -- he was in his cruiser west of Table Rock at the intersection of Nebraska Highways 4 and 50.
As windows rattled about 30 miles north-northeast of him, Chab saw a spectacle in the sky.
Chab e-mailed his observations to spaceweather.com, said Tony Phillips, the site operator.
"It flashed for approximately two seconds and was followed by sonic booms and ground shaking, which prompted many calls by the public to law enforcement in a three-county wide area," Chab was quoted as saying.
"If the earthquake is confirmed, as it appears to be, I think we have the most cosmic of coincidences: a large fireball around the same time of an earthquake," Chab told spaceweather. "I'm simply amazed."
Chab had the day off Thursday and declined interviews through Collins.
But he talked to Collins to set the record straight -- including the fact he never mentioned anything about a cruise missile. (Neither did spaceweather.com.)
But some Web sites don't particularly care. The quotes were referenced in the whatdoesitmean.com story about missiles and particle beams.
And just like that, the minor earthquake near Auburn became something of a far greater, or at least far stranger, magnitude.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
SpaceWeather.com | Brilliant Fireball seen over San Francisco Bay on Saturday November 7, 2009
On Saturday, Nov. 7th, just as the sun was setting over San Francisco Bay, a brilliant meteor glided across the sky and disappeared into the sunset. Witnesses say it was "slow-moving," "white and green," and that it left behind "a trail of smoke and sparkles of debris." Alerted by a friend, Rick Baldridge of Campbell, California, rushed outside and snapped this picture of the fireball's aftermath.
CBC.ca | Possible meteor spotted in British Columbia sky - it was bright white, with red and green and some blue colours, with a bit of a trail behind
Last Updated: Sunday, November 8, 2009 | 3:44 PM PT
People throughout British Columbia were treated to a spectacular light show Saturday after what's believed to be a meteor lit up the sky.
Stephen Dalley and his wife were driving north of Comox, on Vancouver Island, at about 7 p.m. PT.
"We were shocked … I mean, it wasn't what you'd expect, but it was bright white, with red and green and some blue colours, with a bit of a trail behind it and it was a large fireball," he said.
"[It was] approximately what the size of the moon would have been if we were looking at the moon."
Dalley said the intense light only lasted for about three seconds.
The streak of light was also seen about 500 kilometres northeast of Comox, near Vanderhoof.
In an email to CBC News, one witness in the area said, "a blue light flashed a moment before the meteor came down."
David Dodge, a retired astronomer who worked at the HR MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, said it was likely a rock from space.
He said this type of event is not unusual.
"These are happening all the time. We've had some very spectacular fireballs in the Malayasia area just a few weeks ago," he said.
"Earlier this year, there was a spectacular fireball that actually ended up in meteorites over Sudan, and a few weeks ago we had one over Vancouver, so these sorts of things are happening all the time."
Dodge said astronomers will use the sightings in the hopes of triangulating the spot where the rock may have landed.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Radio Netherland Worldwide | Bright meteor sighted in the Dutch night sky
He says he received about 100 reports of sightings of the meteor from people throughout the country. The KNMI national weather centre also received a large number of calls reporting the event.
RELATED:
Space.com | June 10, 2009 - Incoming space rocks now classified by military
Sunday, October 11, 2009
HelioTown.com | Spectacular Fireball Over New Mexico - October 09, 2009 0804:43 UT ( 2:04 am MDT )
Preliminary Report : This was an uncommonly large fireball! It occurred over northern New Mexico and I estimate that its path was roughly from around Questa heading towards the Springer area, or possibly from Taos heading towards the Wagon Mound area. NOTE: This is only a guesstimate and hopefully other reports will surface. Its magnitude was close to -12, almost as bright as the Full Moon.
Here are preliminary videos and more data will follow as it is processed:
VHF forward scatter radio capture at 61.250 MHz and 55.250 MHz: VHF movie
VLF/ELF radio observation here : VLF Movie
VHF scatter and VLF/ELF : VLF/ELF-VHF Movie
Please send reports of this fireball to me at the address below. Thank you.
All-sky camera on loan from Sandia National Laboratories.
Thomas Ashcraft - Radio Fireball Observatory - 35. 50 N 105.89 W New Mexico
More Fireballs ::::: To Heliotown and More Astronomical Observations
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
WaikatoTimes.co.nz | Philip Wilson caught this spectacular shot of what appears to be some kind of fireball in the sky in New Zealand
Mystery high in the sky. FIREBALL? Philip Wilson caught this spectacular shot of what appears
to be some kind of fireball in the sky.
"I noticed this strange sight of a fireball falling from the sky. With me was a local man who has lived in the area all his life and he said he's never seen anything like it.
"None of the locals knew what it was either. My guess is that it is some sort of a ball of gas exploding in the atmosphere."
Mr Wilson doubted it was a flare or aeroplane.
"I know I have captured some sort of rare phenomenon on camera. After checking various sites on the internet I have failed to see anything like it."
Photo: PHILIP WILSON
Monday, July 13, 2009
SpaceWeather.com | A fireball of magnitude -10 (about 250 times brighter than Venus) lit up central Colorado at 2:28 a.m. MDT on July 13th
Data has been recovered from the following cameras:
- Cloudbait (details, video)
- Tom Ashcraft's camera in New Mexico.
