The Great Daylight Fireball

Originally posted by cody599
reply to post by Rezlooper

 

Regardless it is much more reliable than your sources
ATS'ers may not trust it but many have quoted it. Strange huh ?
Forgive me if I trust a well credited global website against 1 quote from you.
As you see in the evidence you quote the speeds are much slower.

Actually, Rezlooper is spot on with the information he posted as far as meteoroids in solar orbits are concerned.

The speeds that are listed on the site that you linked to, although also correct, don't take into account the speed or direction in which the Earth moves in it's orbit.

For example, Leonid meteoroids don't travel at 70ish km/s through space - it's a good bit slower than this. However, since they travel in the opposite direction to Earth in it's orbit, when they hit the atmosphere, it's like a head on car-crash - the relative speeds are combined.

Interestingly, intergalactic particles/meteoroids will have much more extreme speeds, which can be as high as a few hundred km/s, taking into account the speed at which our galaxy, our solar system and our Earth are traveling at in their respective orbits.

reply to post by Rezlooper


As I said, calculating the difference in time between zones makes my head spin, but as far as I can tell, it'll be daylight when the predicted peak for the December phi Cassiopeiids is (New Year's Eve @ 16:10 UT).

I think thepolish1 (assuming he is in Poland) will be in a better location to catch this outburst if it occurs, and if it occurs at the predicted time. I'd strongly recommend that he checks out my thread on the subject as it'll be cold enough in that part of the world that he should pay close attention to the cold-weather observing tips.

I would think that northern WI will not be that warm either!

Originally posted by Rezlooper
reply to post by thepolish1

 

Quadrantid meteor shower peaks Jan. 3. Peak times at night are midnight to dawn and the radiant is in the north sky. The showers will be more difficult to see because the moon rises during those times as well.

The annual Quadrantid meteor shower is expected to produce its greatest number of meteors in the wee hours before dawn tomorrow: Thursday, January 3. Before dawn on January 4 might also be a possibility – especially for far eastern Asia. This year, 2013, the waning gibbous moon will be in the sky during the peak hours for watching meteors. But you might see some of the brighter meteors, even in moonlight. The Quadrantid meteor shower is capable of matching the meteor rates of the better known August Perseid and December Geminid showers. It has been known to produce up to 50-100 or more meteors per hour in a dark sky. This shower favors the Northern Hemisphere. That’s because its radiant point – the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to radiate – is far to the north on the sky’s dome.

Source

If you want to see them;

You need a dark, open sky, and you need to look in a general north-northeast direction for an hour or so before dawn. That’s the Quadrantid meteor shower – before dawn January 3, 2013 – for the world’s northerly latitudes. If you’re in Asia, you might try between midnight and dawn on January 4 as well. Who knows? Some of the Quadrantids meteors might be bright enough to dazzle you, even in bright moonlight.

My hats off to you Rez, Thank you for the good info, sorry I was carrying on about asteroids, and comets, when the discussion is for meteor showers....just look at the name

Ok, your in Northern Wisconsin?? I'm in North-central Indiana, Maybe I might be able to see some on the way home from work on the 3rd. I got to see a few from the last meteor shower that was just a few weeks ago. Got home from work, put on some Carharts, a glass of wine, and a sky that was SOOOO clear, I was amazed at how many stars I could see. I got the binoculars, and layed on the trampoline for a while. I hope I can catch one when it is warm out.

Originally posted by FireballStorm
reply to post by Rezlooper

 

As I said, calculating the difference in time between zones makes my head spin, but as far as I can tell, it'll be daylight when the predicted peak for the December phi Cassiopeiids is (New Year's Eve @ 16:10 UT).

I think thepolish1 (assuming he is in Poland) will be in a better location to catch this outburst if it occurs, and if it occurs at the predicted time. I'd strongly recommend that he checks out my thread on the subject as it'll be cold enough in that part of the world that he should pay close attention to the cold-weather observing tips.

I would think that northern WI will not be that warm either!

Fireballstorm, Assuming he is a she, and she is in the US, Not too far from Rez, You can't always Judge a book by it's cover. Maybe I should change my user name to thefpolish1? Can't read too much into that can ya???LOL
It is gonna be real cold here, but maybe I will catch one on the way home from work.

Late 1960's, N. central MA. my older sister and I watched a fireball just above the horizon going out of the north to the south. Like watching an arc-weld in daylight with thick smoke after it. Watched it for over a minute. There was an article in the paper the next day. Very cool.

reply to post by thepolish1


My apologies thepolish1. You know what they say about assumption... and it appears that I put my foot in it!

Either way, hope you manage to catch a few nice meteors over the coming days. If you don't catch anything on NYE, the Quadrantid meteor shower is little known, but one of the strongest showers of the year, so well worth a try.

Originally posted by thepolish1
I got the binoculars, and layed on the trampoline for a while.

Not sure if you were aware or not, but just in case you are not, the best way to observe a meteor shower is with the naked eye.

Binoculars will restrict your field of view so that you may miss many meteors, although it may be useful to have a pair to hand if you see something else unusual, or a bright meteor/fireball leaves a persistent (or "long duration") train.

You definitely did the right thing by laying down on your trampoline though

Originally posted by tkwasny
Late 1960's, N. central MA. my older sister and I watched a fireball just above the horizon going out of the north to the south. Like watching an arc-weld in daylight with thick smoke after it. Watched it for over a minute. There was an article in the paper the next day. Very cool.

Amazing...sounds like you got to see one of these Earth-grazers like the '72 fireball. To be able to watch it cross the sky for over a minute would be pretty cool. That type of sighting is probably a once in a lifetime catch for most of us!

Originally posted by Rezlooper
Amazing...sounds like you got to see one of these Earth-grazers like the '72 fireball. To be able to watch it cross the sky for over a minute would be pretty cool. That type of sighting is probably a once in a lifetime catch for most of us!

A duration of over a minute does suggest that it could have been a slow grazer. Another possibility is a junk or satellite reentry, since satellites, at the upper end of their speed range are very similar in speed to slower meteors. It would be very difficult to tell the two apart, even for an experienced observer. Either way, I'm sure it would have been an impressive/once in a lifetime sight!

Originally posted by FireballStorm

Originally posted by thepolish1
I got the binoculars, and layed on the trampoline for a while.

Not sure if you were aware or not, but just in case you are not, the best way to observe a meteor shower is with the naked eye.

Binoculars will restrict your field of view so that you may miss many meteors, although it may be useful to have a pair to hand if you see something else unusual, or a bright meteor/fireball leaves a persistent (or "long duration") train.

You definitely did the right thing by laying down on your trampoline though

I was using the binoculars, because of all the stars. I wanted to see something I noticed back in summer, that had to do with Orion, not for the shower its self. Of course, if I could've caught one when I was looking in them, that would have been cool. I saw a real bright one that left a blue arc in the sky.

Yes, the trampoline, I do not like being cold, and laying on the ground was not an option.

Originally posted by thepolish1
Yes, the trampoline, I do not like being cold, and laying on the ground was not an option.

One (or more) sleeping bags (as well as lots of layers of cloths) is a good idea if you feel the cold easily. I usually try and spend the whole night meteor observing, and at the end of a cold winter's night it's not unusual for me to emerge from my sleeping bags which are covered in a layer of frost, having been comfortably warm all night. My partner is another story - she gets cold no matter how many cloths or sleeping bags she's in!

Originally posted by FireballStorm

Originally posted by thepolish1
Yes, the trampoline, I do not like being cold, and laying on the ground was not an option.

One (or more) sleeping bags (as well as lots of layers of cloths) is a good idea if you feel the cold easily. I usually try and spend the whole night meteor observing, and at the end of a cold winter's night it's not unusual for me to emerge from my sleeping bags which are covered in a layer of frost, having been comfortably warm all night. My partner is another story - she gets cold no matter how many cloths or sleeping bags she's in!

Thats me!!!! I do have to say, I was in awe at the sight. I didn't get to see it the next night because it was cloudy for the next week, and it was over by then. But I might just step outside before I turn in for the night on the third, If the weather cooperates.
Thank you for the info Fireball.

In the summer of 2010 I witnessed a fireball on the way to work. It was either very large or very close. I think it was very close because it traveled from left to right across the truck windshield and I could see it all the way. It appeared to be about 20 degrees over the horizon.

The head was a ball of fire with gray black smoke trailing behind it for miles. It was close enough that I could hear the very loud rumble/roar as it passed. I held my hand up and could just cover the head as it passed.

I pulled over and waited for it to hit, seemly just over the ridge to my right, but it never did. It either skipped out or burned up. I think it passed within two miles of my location.

I never heard anything on the news or in the newspaper or any other witnesses. I work for an oil company and we usually have a lot of people in the field even early in the morning, but no one saw it or mentioned the incident.

NE OK

Originally posted by elfrog
In the summer of 2010 I witnessed a fireball on the way to work. It was either very large or very close. I think it was very close because it traveled from left to right across the truck windshield and I could see it all the way. It appeared to be about 20 degrees over the horizon.

The head was a ball of fire with gray black smoke trailing behind it for miles. It was close enough that I could hear the very loud rumble/roar as it passed. I held my hand up and could just cover the head as it passed.

I pulled over and waited for it to hit, seemly just over the ridge to my right, but it never did. It either skipped out or burned up. I think it passed within two miles of my location.

I never heard anything on the news or in the newspaper or any other witnesses. I work for an oil company and we usually have a lot of people in the field even early in the morning, but no one saw it or mentioned the incident.

NE OK

Awesome
It may have been closer than you think because if you'll see in the witness account above, well click to his website and read full story, he says that at first for many years he believed the fireball was just over the top of the mountains from them, like 40 miles he said, but later to find out that it was actually 100 miles beyond the mountain.

reply to post by FireballStorm


Fascinating!!! At 20 meters though, I hardly see this comparing to the tunguska event which had a minimum estimated size of 100meters.

Still brilliant, I actually witnessed a brilliant meteor in last nights shower. It came down like a firework, a bright green streak with orange sparks that faded to orange, burst into little orange pieces and disappeared.