Meteor/Meteorite News 11JUN2011

STAR POINTS: Astronomical observation accompanied by sound
Carroll County Times
Right away I knew it was a meteor, and I looked up. Like a burning green emerald trailing a short tail of what appeared to be sizzling orange sparks as the meteoroid was being ablated by friction caused by the heat of entry into the Earth's atmosphere. ... WV 29MAY2011 event


The 'doomsday' plane that can protect the President ...
4 min  YouTube video
The 'doomsday' plane that can protect the President from nuclear war and meteor strikes
youtube.com


Meteorite Cooks Up Its Organic Brew
Sky & Telescope
That's when a 50-ton chunk of interplanetary debris exploded in the early-morning sky, rattling the residents below and dropping dark meteorites onto the frozen, snow-covered terrain near the provincial capital of Whitehorse. This piece from the Tagish ...


YouTube - Crop Circle 2011 fulfilled:Two Fireball Meteor over NE ...
TWO Bright Green Fireballs Meteor over NE United States 29MAY2011.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJboS_RBWRs


Asteroids factories for building blocks of life: study
CBC via Yahoo! Canada News Fri, 10 Jun 2011 07:01 AM PDT
A meteorite found in B.C. contains evidence that asteroids are production sites for molecules such as amino acids that form the building blocks of life, a new study reports.


Asteroid Served Up "Custom Orders" of Life's Ingredients
SpaceDaily Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:13 PM PDT
Some asteroids may have been like "molecular factories" cranking out life's ingredients and shipping them to Earth via meteorite impacts, according to scientists who've made discoveries of molecules essential for life in material from certain kinds of asteroids and comets.

Northern B.C. meteorite landfall yields treasure for geologists Vancouver Province Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:00 PM PDT A University of Alberta research team has discovered an unprecedented variety of organic material in a series of meteorites that landed in northern British Columbia. Is there life on Mars? New Zealand Herald But in 1996 Nasa scientists, led by David McKay, announced they had found possible signs of life on a Martian meteorite called ALH84001. This lump of rock, weighing almost 2kg, fell to Earth 13000 years ago, after being blasted into space when an ... Did meteorite help form life on Earth? Hamilton Spectator Did organic material on meteorites that crashed into Earth billions of years ago play a role in the formation of life on our planet? It's an intriguing idea that's been bandied about by scientists and stargazers for some time. ... Asteroids cook up ingredients of life ABC Online Life factories A set of pristine meteorites has provided fresh support for the notion that the chemical ingredients of life came from outer space. Rather than Earth, the research by scientists led by Dr Christopher Herd from Canada's University of ... B.C. meteorite suggests life on Earth came from space Vancouver Sun It was back in the news in 2006, when scientists paid a BC man $850000 for 850 grams of the meteorite that he found on Tagish Lake. Now the rock is in the spotlight again, providing what scientists say are important new clues about the building blocks ... PAGASA Lunar eclipse on June 16 meteor shower June 22 Nation GMA ... Barring cloudy skies and rains, stargazers will have at least two events to look forward to this June: a total lunar eclipse on June 16; and a meteor shower ... www.gmanews.tv/.../pagasa-lunar-eclipse-on-june-16-meteor-s... Meteorite holds clues to organic chemistry of the early Earth: study PhysOrg Thu, 09 Jun 2011 11:04 AM PDT Carbonaceous chondrites are a type of organic-rich meteorite that contain samples of the materials that took part in the creation of our planets nearly 4.6 billion years ago, including materials that were likely formed before our solar system was created and may have been crucial to the formation of life on Earth. The complex suite of organic materials found in carbonaceous chondrites can vary ... Piece of historic meteorite up for auction UPI Thu, 09 Jun 2011 14:53 PM PDT DALLAS, June 9 (UPI) -- A piece cut from the famous 15-ton Willamette Meteorite at New York's American Museum of Natural History will go to the highest bidder, an auction house says. Asteroids may have nurtured the chemical seeds of life msnbc.com The research, an analysis of a meteorite that fell on a frozen Canadian lake in 2000, reveals a surprisingly large variation in the organic chemicals found among different chunks of the meteorite. The results suggest the emergence of life on Earth may ... Did Asteroids Help Incubate the First Earthly Life? TIME By Jeffrey Kluger Thursday, June 09, 2011 Meteorites don't always announce their arrival, but the one bearing down on Canada on Jan. 18, 2000 was not so shy. Plunging toward the ground in a roaring fireball, it took dead aim at Lake Tagish in the ... meteor showers Naked Scientists Discussion Forum The Naked Scientists science forum supports the naked scientists podcast and radio show. Ask and answer science questions on any subject. www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=7173... 2011 International Meteor Conference International Meteor Conference Sibiu, Romania, September 15-18 This year's International Meteor Conference (IMC)---the 30th edition already!--will take place in the historical city of Sibiu in Romania, from September 15 to 18, 2011. The standard early registration fee, including full board, has remained unchanged from last year at 155 EUR. More details on this IMC can be found at http://www.imo.net/imc2011/ We also wish to point interested meteor workers attention to the fact that the period in which the early registration fee is applicable expires at the end of the month. From July 1 onwards, the registration fee will be 170 EUR. Every year, the IMC is an exciting event where meteor workers from all over the world meet and exchange their  experiences. Make sure not to miss it!  International Meteor Organization, Treasurer Kind regards, Marc Gyssens  Passion to Offer More Meteorite Men World Screen By Kristin Brzoznowski LONDON: Passion Distribution is heading to DISCOP with all-new episodes of Meteorite Men, which recently scored a third-season pickup from Science Channel. The show, produced by LMNO Productions, has eight new hour-long episodes ... AMS Fireball Table | American Meteor Society The American Meteor Society has received reports of a bright blue/white fireball that occurred over Kansas and Missouri near 11:00pm CDT on June 3, 2011. ... www.amsmeteors.org/tag/ams-fireball-table/ Fireball Over Midwest June 2, 2011 | American Meteor Society The American Meteor Society has received reports of a blue-green fireball that occurred over the Mid-Western States just before 9pm CDT on Thursday June 2nd ... www.amsmeteors.org/.../fireball-over-midwest-june-2-2011/ Meteor Activity Outlook for June 11-17, 2011 During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Wednesday June 15th. At this time the moon will lie opposite the sun and will be in the sky all night long. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will cause problems while above the horizon. Once it sets during the late morning hours, a small opportunity will exist for viewing meteor activity between moon set and dawn. The estimated total hourly rates for evening observers this week is near two as seen from the northern hemisphere and three as seen from the southern hemisphere. For morning observers the estimated total hourly rates should be near seven from the northern hemisphere and seventeen as seen from south of the equator. The actual rates will also depend on factors such as personal light and motion perception, local weather conditions, alertness and experience in watching meteor activity. Evening rates are reduced due to moonlight. The radiant (the area of the sky where meteors appear to shoot from) positions and rates listed below are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning June 11/12. These positions do not change greatly day to day so the listed coordinates may be used during this entire period. Most star atlases (available at science stores and planetariums) will provide maps with grid lines of the celestial coordinates so that you may find out exactly where these positions are located in the sky. A planisphere or computer planetarium program is also useful in showing the sky at any time of night on any date of the year. Activity from each radiant is best seen when it is positioned highest in the sky, either due north or south along the meridian, depending on your latitude. It must be remembered that meteor activity is rarely seen at the radiant position. Rather they shoot outwards from the radiant so it is best to center your field of view so that the radiant lies at the edge and not the center. Viewing there will allow you to easily trace the path of each meteor back to the radiant (if it is a shower member) or in another direction if it is a sporadic. Meteor activity is not seen from radiants that are located below the horizon. The positions below are listed in a west to east manner in order of right ascension (celestial longitude). The positions listed first are located further west therefore are accessible earlier in the night while those listed further down the list rise later in the night. The following shower is expected to be active this week: The wide Antihelion (ANT) radiant is now centered at 18:16 (274) -23. This area of the sky lies in northern Sagittarius near the faint star 11 Sagittarii. This radiant is best placed near 0200 local daylight time (LDT), when it lies on the meridian and is located highest in the sky. Due to the large size of this radiant, any meteor radiating from southeastern Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, Scutum, Serpens Cauda, or eastern Scorpius could be a candidate for this shower. Rates at this time should be near one per hour as seen from the northern hemisphere and two per hour as seen from south of the equator. With an entry velocity of 30 km/sec., the average Antihelion meteor would be of medium-slow speed. As seen from the mid-northern hemisphere (45N) one would expect to see approximately six sporadic meteors per hour during the last hour before dawn as seen from rural observing sites. Evening rates would be near one per hour. As seen from the mid-southern hemisphere (45S), morning rates would be near sixteen per hour as seen from rural observing sites and two per hour during the evening hours. Locations between these two extremes would see activity between the listed figures. Evening rates are reduced due to moonlight. The list below presents a condensed version of the expected activity this week. Rates and positions are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning. Antihelion (ANT) 18:16 (274) -23 Velocity - 30km/sec Northern Hemisphere - 1 per hour Southern Hemisphere - 2 per hour Clear Skies! Robert Lunsford American Meteor Society