01 November 2009

Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 1NOV09 Worldwide Reader`s 31,050 visits


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Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News- NASA's Earth Observatory 1NOV09

The latest from NASA's Earth Observatory (13 October 2009)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Latest Images:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/


* Kipuka, Craters of the Moon
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40708&src=eoa-iotd


* Craters of the Moon, Idaho
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40705&src=eoa-iotd


* Oblique View of the Arnica Fire, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40681&src=eoa-iotd


* Tombouctou, Mali
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40684&src=eoa-iotd


* Rainfall from Typhoon Parma
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40687&src=eoa-iotd


* Earthquakes Near Vanuatu
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40677&src=eoa-iotd


* Hampton Glacier, Alexander Island, Antarctica
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40629&src=eoa-iotd


* Typhoon Melor and Tropical Storm Parma
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40615&src=eoa-iotd


--------------------

NASA News:

* Space Radar Reveals Topography of Tsunami Site
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40561&src=eoa-nnews


* Study Highlights Data on How Pollution Travels
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40672&src=eoa-nnews


* The Life, Data and Death of a Satellite Mission
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40673&src=eoa-nnews


* Arctic Sea Ice Extent is Third Lowest on Record
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40674&src=eoa-nnews


--------------------

Headlines from the press, radio, and television:

* Crystal Ball Predicts Sea Level Rise
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40636&src=eoa-hnews


* Science Gives Clearer View of Landscape
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40637&src=eoa-hnews


* Warming Ocean Melts Greenland Glaciers
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40638&src=eoa-hnews


* Laser Satellite Records Ice Loss
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40639&src=eoa-hnews


* Kenya's Heart Stops Pumping
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40640&src=eoa-hnews


* Four Degrees of Warming 'Likely'
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40641&src=eoa-hnews


* Iraq's Drought: Eden Drying Out
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40642&src=eoa-hnews


* India Drought 'Worst Since 1972'
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40643&src=eoa-hnews


* Earthquakes Weaken Distant Faults
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40644&src=eoa-hnews


* NASA Makes Cloud to Study Particles
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40645&src=eoa-hnews


* Earth's Climate Outside 'Safe Operating Space'
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40646&src=eoa-hnews


* Volcanoes Defrosted Ice Age
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40647&src=eoa-hnews


* Dust Storm Triggers Ocean Bloom
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40648&src=eoa-hnews


* Video: Science of a Tsunami
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40649&src=eoa-hnews


* Loss of Top Predators Causing Ecosystems to Collapse
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40650&src=eoa-hnews


* 6-Foot Sea-Level Rise Called Inevitable
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40651&src=eoa-hnews


* Pollution Travels the Globe, Study Confirms
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40652&src=eoa-hnews


* Plumbing of a Supervolcano Revealed
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40653&src=eoa-hnews


* Volcanoes Wiped Out All Forests 250 Million Years Ago
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40654&src=eoa-hnews


* Alaska Coast Eroding Fast
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40655&src=eoa-hnews


* River Deltas are Sinking, Thanks to Us
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40656&src=eoa-hnews


--------------------

Press releases from institutions that either address climate research or are NASA-funded.

* There's Still Time to Cut the Risk of Climate Catastrophe
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40661&src=eoa-manews


* Acid Clouds Nourish World's Oceans
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40662&src=eoa-manews


* Panama Butterfly Migrations Linked to El Ni単o, Climate Change
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40663&src=eoa-manews


* New Coastland Map Could Help Strengthen Sea Defenses
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40664&src=eoa-manews


* Do Dust Particles Curb Climate Change?
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40665&src=eoa-manews


* Arctic Sea Ice Recovers Slightly in 2009, Remains on Downward Trend
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40666&src=eoa-manews


* Sand Dunes Reveal Unexpected Dryness During Heavy Monsoon
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40667&src=eoa-manews


* A Tree's Response to Environmental Changes: What Can We Expect Over the Next 100 Years?
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40668&src=eoa-manews


* Peering Under the Ice of a Collapsing Polar Coast
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=40669&src=eoa-manews


---------------------------------------------------------------------
Earth Observatory weekly mailing -- http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/

Meteor/Meteorite News- Dawn Journal - October 31, 2009

http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/journal_10_31_09.asp


Dawn Journal
Dr. Marc Rayman
October 31, 2009

Dear Dawn-o'-lanterns,

Dawn continues to make steady progress on its journey through the solar
system. The spacecraft has devoted another month to thrusting with its
ion propulsion system, ever with its sights set on its rendezvous with
Vesta in July 2011. While it will have other assignments along the way,
propelling itself to the giant protoplanet deep in the main asteroid
belt remains its principal responsibility.

The asteroid belt consists of innumerable objects in orbit around the
Sun between Mars and Jupiter. (Dawn is aiming for the 2 most massive
members of the belt.) Just as with a ball of cotton or a cloud, while
there may appear to be a clear border when viewed from a great distance,
a more careful examination reveals it to be less distinct. There is no
sharp edge to demarcate the boundary. For example, although most
asteroids remain between the two planets, the orbits of some bring them
closer to the Sun than Mars. We can adopt a part of one common
definition in which, to be designated as a resident of the main asteroid
belt, an object's orbit can bring it no closer to the Sun than 1.666
astronomical units (AU). It is not coincidental that this is the greatest
distance that Mars travels from the Sun. (Earth and its inhabitants never
reach more than 1.017 AU from the solar system's gravitational master.)

As with Earth, Mars, and asteroids, Dawn's orbit around the Sun is
elliptical. The principal difference is that the ship is constantly
changing its course by emitting a high velocity beam of xenon ions. (It
has racked up more than 10,000 hours of powered flight, with much more
thrusting ahead.) In a lovely solar system dance in February, Dawn
briefly partnered with Mars for additional assistance on its way.
As we saw in the last log , the spacecraft's orbit grows larger as the
mission progresses, bringing the explorer ever closer to its first
destination. On November 13, it will enter the asteroid belt as its
silent flight takes it past 1.666 AU from the Sun. It will remain in the
belt for the rest of its mission and well beyond. Dawn will become a
permanent inhabitant of that part of the solar system, the first emissary
from Earth to take up residence in the main asteroid belt.

The probe has been here before. On June 30, 2008 it passed the outermost
part of Mars' orbit. But its elliptical path reached its greatest distance
from the Sun of more than 1.68 AU on August 8, 2008, and 40 days after that,
it crossed the orbit of Mars again. On April 17, 2009, then at 1.37 AU from
the Sun, its momentum began carrying it outwards once again. By then it
was in a larger orbit, and thanks to the extensive additional orbital energy
imparted to the spacecraft by its persistent ion thrusting, it will sail
smoothly through 1.68 AU next month and continue deeper into the asteroid belt.

As Dawn continuously enlarges its solar orbit still more, mission
controllers work diligently to ensure the distant craft remains healthy.
They are also preparing to give it some additional tasks before the year
is out, and inside sources reveal that these may be described in an
upcoming log. In the meantime, emitting its eerie bluish glow, the probe
silently streaks toward unexplored worlds, seeking to reveal new secrets
and likely new questions as well.

Dawn is 1.25 AU (187 million kilometers or 116 million miles) from
Earth, or 485 times as far as the moon and 1.26 times as far as the Sun.
Radio signals, traveling at the universal limit of the speed of light,
take 21 minutes to make the round trip.

Dr. Marc D. Rayman
11:30 pm PDT October 31, 2009

P.S. Although Dawn works tirelessly in interplanetary space, the team on
Earth is taking a break for Halloween. Observant readers have already
noticed that this correspondent has dawned his costume, and it is a
delightful and impressive disguise indeed. In an act of astonishing
creativity, he is pretending to be someone who can write a (relatively)
short log.

31 October 2009

Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News- 31OCT09

Leonid Meteor Shower On The Way!

KOLD-TV
By Chuck George - email We are still a couple of weeks away from the Leonid Meteor Shower. The Leonids occur as the earth passes through the tail of a comet ...

Farmer sparks UFO alert with helium balloons

Telegraph.co.uk
"The local paper had an article about it with a so called expert saying it was probably 20- 22000 feet in the air and was more than likely a meteor shower. ...

Close call reminds me there are many ways to go

Gaston Gazette
A meteorite could crash into my house. Or I could be an accidental stowaway on a runaway helium balloon contraption one of my family members created as a ...

“such objects are expected to impact the Earth on average every 2 - 12 years”

GlobalPost
A reported meteorite strike in Latvia turned out to be a publicity stunt by a telecommunications company, who are now facing some awkward questions from the ...

Latvia experts call meteorite crater a hoax
Marin Independent Journal Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:11 AM PDT
Scientists investigating a large crater initially believed to have been caused by a meteorite said a closer analysis has revealed it was a hoax. Experts in the Baltic country of Latvia rushed to the site after reports that a meteoritelike object had crashed Oct. 25 in the Mazsalaca region near the Estonian border.

Weekly business accounts

Times Online
A publicity stunt gone wrong is blamed for a meteorite scare on the Latvian-Estonian border. Scientists cordoned off a crater after reports that a “fiery ...

November 2009 Geology and GSA Today highlights

EurekAlert (press release)
The Sudbury bolide probably was approximately the same size as the giant meteorite that hit the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico 65 million years ago, ...

Tele2: meteorite campaign in Latvia gives results

The Baltic Course
After the meteorite publicity stunt, the telecommunication company Tele2 has been receiving many phone calls from private individuals as well as enterprises ...

Asteroid Explosion over Indonesia

Universe Today
They are well equipped to monitor explosions of nuclear weapons, but also detect other events such as meteorite impacts and asteroid explosions, ...

Fields of Fear spooks Washington County Fair Complex

Corvallis Gazette Times
HILLSBORO - A meteorite has landed in the Hillsboro area, releasing a deadly gas that has infected thousands of residents. The United States military has ...

'Meteorite' that landed in Latvia is a hoax, claim experts

Newspost Online
Experts have said that the claims by a group of students that a meteorite landed in Latvia on October 25, are false, and is an elaborate hoax set up by the ...

Risk Assessment of Tunguska-type Events- 30OCT09

PDF on risk assessment of Tunguska-type events

A report on risk assessment of Tunguska-type events written by Arnaud M of France has been released.
Link:
http://www.rms.com/Publications/1908_Tunguska_Event.pdf


A peer-reviewed paper should follow soon.

Source: ArnaudM, France

30 October 2009

Meteor/Meteorite News 30OCT09

Backyard Astronomer: LIFE in the universe

Sierra Vista Herald
If even one singled cell life form could hitch a ride on a meteor from a distant place in the galaxy, survive and land on Earth, it could mix with another ...
November Sky

Nepali Times
This month, we have two meteor showers, the Hunter's Moon and Jupiter dominating the evening skies. But let's talk of the stars first. ...

Ares IX finally reaches T-minus-zero

Astronomy Magazine
Three days ago, Contributing Editor Mike Reynolds wrote his first in what will be a series of blogs about meteorites and meteorite collecting. ...
Science chases more meteorites

C21Media
NEWS BRIEF: Discovery's Science Channel has ordered six more episodes of Meteorite Men, about modern day treasure hunters Geoff Notkin and Steve Arnold, ...

Association president: action with meteorite hoax could be considered an ...

The Baltic Course
As reported earlier, the meteorite publicity stunt was organized by the mobile phone operator Tele2 in tandem with the media agency Inspired, ...

Carl Sagan,Stephen Hawking Tribute Video- 29OCT09



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgiXGELjb

by melodysheep

My own musical tribute to two great men of science. Carl Sagan and his cosmologist companion Stephen Hawking present: A Glorious Dawn - Cosmos remixed. Almost all samples and footage taken from Carl Sagan's Cosmos and Stephen Hawking's Universe series.

RIP Dr. Sagan, you will be missed!!

Please, click HQ to watch in better quality.

Go here to download the track:
http://www.colorpulsemusic.com/youtub...

And my website for more original music:
http://www.colorpulsemusic.com/

Enjoy!!

-John
boswelj3@gmail.com


Lyrics:

[Sagan]
If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch
You must first invent the universe

Space is filled with a network of wormholes
You might emerge somewhere else in space
Some when-else in time

The sky calls to us
If we do not destroy ourselves
We will one day venture to the stars

A still more glorious dawn awaits
Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise
A morning filled with 400 billion suns
The rising of the milky way

The Cosmos is full beyond measure of elegant truths
Of exquisite interrelationships
Of the awesome machinery of nature

I believe our future depends powerfully
On how well we understand this cosmos
In which we float like a mote of dust
In the morning sky

But the brain does much more than just recollect
It inter-compares, it synthesizes, it analyzes
it generates abstractions

The simplest thought like the concept of the number one
Has an elaborate logical underpinning
The brain has it's own language
For testing the structure and consistency of the world

[Hawking]
For thousands of years
People have wondered about the universe
Did it stretch out forever
Or was there a limit

From the big bang to black holes
From dark matter to a possible big crunch
Our image of the universe today
Is full of strange sounding ideas

[Sagan}
How lucky we are to live in this time
The first moment in human history
When we are in fact visiting other worlds

The surface of the earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean
Recently we've waded a little way out
And the water seems inviting
---------------------------------------

Watch Cosmos for free on Hulu:
http://www.hulu.com/cosmos

Carl Sagan's Mii Character #(for Wii):
6774-1898-8986

29 October 2009

Meteor/Meteorite News- 29OCT09

If sky is clear, meteors will put on a show

FayObserver.com
The Leonid meteor shower peaks on Nov. 17. This annual shower produced a spectacular number of meteors in 2001 and less impressive numbers in years since. ...

Dwain Walden: Television can be educational

Americus Times-Recorder
It is believed that meteor strikes in Russia and down in Mexico millions of years ago destroyed the dinosaurs. Unless we have a plan, millions of years from ...

Alleged Latvia Meteorite A Hoax

RedOrbit
Yesterday it was purported to be the site of a meteorite crash, but today a telephone company admitted it was a hoax. Firefighters rushed to a farm near the ...

Marketing campaign behind meteorite hoax
Independent Online Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:00 PM PDT
A Swedish cellphone operator has acknowledged it was behind an elaborate meteorite hoax in Latvia.

SCIENCE CHANNEL COMMISSIONS NEW EPISODES OF METEORITE MEN
The Futon Critic Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:41 AM PDT
Six new episodes will roll out beginning Wednesday, January 20 at 9:00/8:00c.

Tele2 in a hole over 'meteor' publicity stunt
CNN Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:18 PM PDT
An elaborate publicity stunt by a Swedish mobile phone company involving a faked meteorite strike in a Latvian meadow has provided a new case study on how a marketing campaign can backfire.

Mobile operator faces legal action over fake meteorite
telecomasia.net Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:52 PM PDT
It must have seemed a good idea at the time, but Swedish cellco Tele2 faces a hefty bill after creating a fake meteorite landing on a Latvian farm. When locals reported lights in the sky on Sunday evening, the Latvian government sent special forces and scientific experts to the scene.

Indonesien: Nach Ufo-Ente in Lettland - jetzt Einschlag von zehn ...

ShortNews.de - Germany
Wie die Raumfahrtbehörde von Indonesien am gestrigen Dienstag meldete, schlug bereits ein Meteorit am 8. Oktober im Landesteil Süd-Sulawesi ein. ...

SCIENCE CHANNEL COMMISSIONS NEW EPISODES OF METEORITE MEN

The Futon Critic
METEORITE MEN is scheduled to debut Wednesday, January 20, 2010, at 9 PM (ET/PT). Notkin and Arnold have searched the world for remnants of meteorites for ...

Q & A: How could a meteor *explode*?

ScienceBlogs (blog)
My answer: a large meteor or small asteroid/comet could have done this easily. How? Let me explain. When a meteor enters Earth's atmosphere, ...



Indonesia Meteor/Meteorite News- Bone, Indonesian ASTEROID 8OCT09 28OCT09

Space Weather News for Oct. 28, 2009
http://spaceweather.com


INDONESIAN ASTEROID: Earlier this month, with no warning, a ~10-meter wide asteroid hit Earth's atmosphere above Indonesia and exploded. The break-up was so powerful, it triggered nuclear test ban sensors thousands of kilometers away. A just-released analysis of infrasound data shows that the asteroid detonated with an energy equivalent of about 50 kton of TNT, similar to a small atomic bomb. This significant impact has received relatively little attention in Western press.

Details are available today on http://spaceweather.com


MORE:
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news165.html



From the Telegraph (UK):
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/6444895/Asteroid-explosion-over-Indonesia-raises-fears-about-Earths-defences.html



*Asteroid explosion over Indonesia raises fears about Earth's defences*


*An asteroid that exploded in the Earth's atmosphere with the energy
of three Hiroshima bombs this month has reignited fears about our
planet's defences against space impacts.*

By Tom Chivers
Published: 10:23AM GMT 27 Oct 2009

On 8 October, the rock crashed into the atmosphere above South Sulawesi,
Indonesia <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/indonesia


The blast was heard by monitoring stations 10,000 miles away, according
to a report by scientists at the University of Western Ontario
<http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news165.html


Scientists are concerned that it was not spotted by any telescopes, and
that had it been larger it could have caused a disaster.

The asteroid <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space
>, estimated to
have been around 10 metres (30ft) across, hit the atmosphere at an
estimated 45,000mph. The sudden deceleration caused it to heat up
rapidly and explode with the force of 50,000 tons of TNT.
Luckily, due to the height of the explosion -- estimated at between 15
and 20 km (nine to 12 miles) above sea level -- no damage was caused on
the ground.
However, if the object had been slightly larger -- 20 to 30 metres (60
to 90ft) across -- it could easily have caused extensive damage and loss
of life, say researchers.
Very few objects smaller than 100 meters (300ft) across have been
spotted and catalogued by astronomers.

Tim Spahr, director of the Minor Planet Center
<http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/mpc.html
> in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
warned that it was inevitable that minor asteroids would go unnoticed.
He said: "If you want to find the smallest objects you have to build
more, larger telescopes.
"A survey that finds all of the 20-metre objects will cost probably
multiple billions of dollars."

The fireball was spotted by locals in Indonesia, and a YouTube video
taken that day <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeQBzTkJNhs
> "appears to
show a large dust cloud consistent with a bright, daylight fireball",
according to the Ontario researchers.

An asteroid or comet fragment around 60 meters across is believed to
have been behind the Tunguska Event
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event
>, a powerful explosion that
took place over Russia in 1908. The blast has been estimated at
equivalent to 10-15 million tons of TNT -- enough to destroy a large city.

The White House
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/
>
is to develop a policy on the space object impact threat by October next
year.

More Yet:

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news165.html


Asteroid Impactor Reported over Indonesia
Don Yeomans, Paul Chodas, Steve Chesley
NASA/JPL Near-Earth Object Program Office
October 23, 2008

On October 8, 2009 about 03:00 Greenwich time, an atmospheric fireball
blast was observed and recorded over an island region of Indonesia. The
blast is thought to be due to the atmospheric entry of a small asteroid
about 10 meters in diameter that, due to atmospheric pressure, detonated
in the atmosphere with an energy of about 50 kilotons (the equivalent of
50,000 pounds of TNT explosives).

The blast was recorded visually and reported upon by local media
representatives. See the YouTube video at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeQBzTkJNhs&videos=jkRJgbXY-90


A report from Elizabeth Silber and Peter Brown at the University of
Western Ontario indicates that several international very-long
wavelength infrasound detectors recorded the blast and fixed the
position near the coastal city of Bone in South Sulawesi, island of
Sulewesi. They note that the blast was in the 10 to 50 kT range with the
higher end of this range being more likely.

Assuming an estimated size of about 5-10 meters in diameter, we would
expect a fireball event of this magnitude about once every 2 to 12 years
on average. As a rule, the most common types of stony asteroids would
not be expected to cause ground damage unless their diameters were about
25 meters in diameter or larger.

A more extensive report by Elizabeth Silber and Peter Brown of the
University of Western Ontario is here.

------------------------------------------------------------------------


Summary of Preliminary Infrasonic Analysis of the Oct 8, 2009
Indonesian Superbolide

Elizabeth Silber and Peter Brown
Meteor Infrasound group
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy,
Univ. of Western Ontario
London, ON
N6A 3K7
CANADA

Released: October 19, 2009

On Oct 8, 2009, media reports appeared in the local press in Indonesia
concerning a loud air blast occurring near 11am local time (0300 UT).
Subsequent to these first media reports, additional English language
reports appeared suggesting the event was meteoritic.

http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/mysterious-explosion-panics-locals-in-south-sulawesi-police-still-investigating/334246


http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/10/08/blast-may-be-result-falling-space-waste-or-meteorite-lapan.html


Indonesian language reports more clearly identify a bright fireball,
accompanied by an explosion and lingering dust cloud as the origin of
the air blast. Finally, a YouTube video posted on the same day appears
to show a large dust cloud consistent with a bright, daylight fireball.

http://www.surya.co.id/2009/10/09/ledakan-misterius-guncang-sulsel.html


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeQBzTkJNhs&videos=jkRJgbXY-90


Based on these initial reports, a detailed examination was made of all
International Monitoring System (IMS) infrasound stations of the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). From this
initial examination, a total of 11 stations showed probable signals from
a large explosion centered near 4.5S, 120E, with an origin time near
0300 UT on Oct 8, 2009, consistent with the media reports. This signal
was notable for having been (a) detected at many IMS stations, including
five at ranges over 10,000 km (and one at a nearly 18,000 km range) and
(b) being confined to very low frequencies. Both of these observations
suggest the explosion source was of very high total energy. All signal
motions were between 0.27 - 0.32 km/s, consistent with stratospheric
signal returns.

We have used the Air Force Technical Application Centre (AFTAC)
period-yield relation as described by ReVelle (1997) as the most robust
basic indicator of source energy. To generate measured periods, the
average periods of all phase-aligned stacked waveforms at each station
were measured, according to the technique described in Edwards et al
(2006). These periods were then averaged to produce a single, global
average period of 13.4 sec and the AFTAC yield relation applied; this
produced an average source yield of 31 kT of TNT. Averaging the
individual yields from all stations produces a mean source energy near
50 kT of TNT while using only the eight stations having the highest
signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) and using the local observed periods of the
waveform at maximum amplitude produces a yield estimate of 40 kT of TNT,
all of which are basically consistent. It is important to note, however,
that the standard deviation of this measurement is nearly 30 kT. That
is, the best source energy estimate would be 40 +/- 30 kT TNT. Note that
much of this variation may be due to the signal emanating from different
portions of the fireball trail as observed at different stations; each
period measurement is a "sample" of the size of the cylindrical blast
cavity at that particular segment of the trail detected by any one
station. As such, the out of atmosphere yield for this event is likely
higher than these measurements suggest - very probably in the ~50 kT range.

The yield estimates based on infrasonic amplitude are very uncertain in
this instance as the propagation distances are much larger than is
typical and outside the range limits where such relations have been
developed (e.g. Edwards et al, 2006) and hence the period relationship
(which was generated using a dataset of nuclear explosions having yields
in this range) is more applicable.

Some examples of the detected and processed waveforms are shown in the
appendix.

Based on these infrasound records, it appears that a large (40-50 kT
TNT) bolide detonation occurred near 0300 UT on Oct 8, 2009 near the
coastal city of Bone in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The infrasonic
geolocation is not precise enough to determine if the bolide was over
water or land, but it was relatively near the coast.

Follow-on observations from other instruments or ground recovery efforts
would be very valuable in further refining this unique event.

Using an average impact velocity for NEAs of 20.3 km/s, the energy
limits (10 - 70 kT) suggested by this analysis correspond to an object
5-10 m in diameter. Based on the flux rate from Brown et al (2002), such
objects are expected to impact the Earth on average every 2 - 12 years

*References*

Brown P., Spalding R.E., ReVelle D.O., Tagliaferri E. and Worden S.P.
2002. The flux of small near-Earth objects colliding with the Earth,
Nature, 420, 314-316.

Edwards W.N., Brown P.G., ReVelle D.O., 2006. Estimates of Meteoroid
Kinetic Energies from Observations of Infrasonic Airwaves, Journal of
Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, 68: 1136-1160.

ReVelle D.O. 1997. Historical Detection of Atmospheric Impacts by Large
Bolides using Acoustic-Gravity Waves, Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences, Near-Earth Objects - The United Nations International
Conference, editor J.L. Remo, New York Academy of Sciences, 822, 284-302.

*Appendix : Example waveform detections.*

In each of the following the infrasound signals across each station have
been array processed in windows (typically of 30-60 second length) to
search for coherent signals with consistent back-azimuth measurements.
The top panel in each display is the F-statistic, a measure of the
relative coherency of the signal across the array elements in any
particular window (essentially a SNR measure). The second window shows
the apparent trace velocity of the acoustic signal across the array in
the direction of the peak F-stat. Similarly, the third plot shows the
best estimate for the signal back-azimuth in the direction of maximum
F-stat for each window. The fourth plot shows the raw pressure signal
for one array element bandpassed according to the chosen Low - High
frequency combination, shown in the boxes of the lower plot.

[graphic]
Signal as detected at IS05AU (Australia) as a range of 5000 km - the
green area highlights the airwave signal

[graphic]
Signal as detected at IS07AU (Australia) from a range of 2300 km.

[graphic]
Signal as detected at IS13CL (Easter Island) at 13500 km range showing a
distinct signal with a dominant period near 16.5 seconds.

Meteor/Meteorite News- Bright light in sky causes commotion 27OCT09

Bright light in sky causes commotion

At 3:07 a.m. Tuesday, McPherson County Communications
officers received several reports from citizens and law enforcement officers
regarding a large blue light falling from the sky. Dispatchers spoke with
Saline and Reno County authorities and were advised that
they had also received reports of this phenomena.

The National Weather Service in Wichita, was
contacted and they advised they had received a report of this from Lincoln County.

The general consensus is that it was a meteorite, however there is no
determination as to where it made impact.
http://www.mcphersonsentinel.com/news/x1615057499/Bright-light-in-sky-causes-commotion

Workshop on Asteroid 2008 TC3- 28OCT09

Workshop on Asteroid 2008 TC3 Scheduled


http://asima.seti.org/2008TC3/workshop2008TC3.html


WORKSHOP ON ASTEROID 2008 TC3
University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan
Dec 5-15, 2009

INVITATION

The University of Khartoum, Faculty of Sciences and Physics Department,
and the SETI Institute invite planetary astronomers and meteoriticists
to participate in a workshop dedicated to asteroid 2008 TC3. Asteroid
2008 TC3 was the first asteroid to be detected in space and subsequently
found to impact the Earth. Fragments were recovered in the Nubian Desert
of northern Sudan in the form of rare ureilite meteorites, called
"Almahata Sitta".

Goal of the workshop is to discuss the results from ongoing research
into the properties of asteroid 2008 TC3 when it was still in space, its
nature and origin, the asteroid's impact in Earth's atmosphere, the
subsequent recovery, and the analysis of the recovered meteorites. Talks
on the origin of ureilites are invited, as well as discussions on how to
adjust observing strategies to increase the likelyhood of future
discoveries of small asteroids on a collision course with Earth.

By accepting this invitation, researchers will have a chance to examine
the collection of recovered meteorites and discuss how best to proceed
with the investigation of this small asteroid.

The workshop will be held on the days of December 6 and 7, 2009. The
University invites participants to take part in a banquet on the evening
of December 6 [Earliest return flight would be afternoon December 8].

In the week following, from December 8 to 15, there will be a site visit
to the area where Almahata Sitta was recovered . An effort will be made
to expand the diversity of recovered materials by finding more of the
fallen debris. Participants are asked to bring clothes and strong shoes,
suitable for outdoor camping and hiking. The weather can be cold at
night (bring woolen hat). Bring medication for a bad stomach,
anti-musquito spray, and sun-screen.

Itinerary: Dec. 8 - travel to Almahata Sitta; Dec. 9-12 - field survey;
[optional: Dec 13 - morning travel back to Khartoum (10-hr trip, arrive
3 pm afternoon at the earliest)]; Dec 13-15 - sight seeing along Nile,
back in Khartoum 4pm afternoon Dec. 15.

Abstract and registration <http://atv.seti.org/registration2008TC3.html
>
deadline is *November 1, 2009*. Please do not delay.

After registration (and sending us your passport pdf), you will receive
a letter of invitation from the University and a visa approval number
from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sudan that should help expedite
the visa process. If there are any questions, please feel free to
contact us at: Petrus.M.Jenniskens [at] nasa.gov


Scientific Organizing Committee:

* Dr. P. Jenniskens, SETI Institute, USA (chair)
* Dr. S. Chesley, NASA JPL, USA
* Dr. A. Fitzsimmons, Queens U. Belfast, UK
* Dr. D. Nesvorny, SWRI, USA
* Dr. P. Scheirich, Ondrejov Observatory, Czech Republic
* Prof. C. Taricco, University of Torino, Italy
* Dr. M. H. Shaddad, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Dr. M. Zolensky, NASA JSC, USA

Local Organizing Committee:

* Dr. Muawia H. Shaddad, University of Khartoum, Sudan (chair)
* Dr. Omer Eid, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Dr. Arbab Ibrahim Arbab, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Dr. Abbakar Ali Abdella, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Saadia Elsir, Juba University, Khartoum, Sudan
* Ayman Ismael Hamid, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Hosam Eldeen Babiker, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Ayman Kudoda, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Diya Numan, University of Khartoum, Sudan
* Nesreen Shareef Hassan, University of Khartoum, Sudan

Contact information:
Muawia H. Shaddad, LOC chair, Physics Department, Faculty of Sciences,
University of Khartoum. Email: shaddadmhsh [at] yahoo.com; Tel.:
+249-912-359317.

Omer Eid, Head of the Physics Department, Faculty of Sciences,
University of Khartoum. Email: omereid [at] gmail.com; Tel.:
+249-11-780539.

Saadia Elsir, Juba University, Khartoum. Email: saadia.elsir [at]
yahoo.com; Tel.: +249-912-346333.

Peter Jenniskens, SOC chair, SETI Institute, 515 N. Whisman Road,
Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Email: Petrus.M.Jenniskens [at] nasa.gov;
Tel.: +1-650-8100216.

28 October 2009

Meteor/Meteorite News- 28OCT09

Arizona Gold Adventures, Inc.

SBWire (press release)
Arizona Gold and Meteorite Adventures offers training and privately led placer gold prospecting expeditions in Arizona, less than 2-hours from Sky Harbor ...

Meteor shower allows one to get reacquainted with celestial friends

Coshocton Tribune
I saw on the Internet that 6 am, Wednesday, Oct. 21, was the best time to see this year's Orionid meteor shower. The article held out the promise of seeing ...

Mobile Firm's Meteor Stunt Backfires

Newser
... Posted 9 minutes ago| Share (Newser) – A Swedish mobile phone company has dug itself into a crater with a marketing stunt involving a fake meteorite. ...

Vor 65 Millionen Jahren: Meteoriten-Einschlag hatte für Europa ...

Neuß-Grevenbroicher Zeitung - Nordrhein-Westfalen,Germany
Vor etwa 65 Millionen Jahren war ein mehrerer Kilometer großer Meteorit nahe der heutigen mexikanischen Halbinsel Yucatan auf die Erde geprallt. ...

Fatalny pomysł Tele2 z łotewskim meteorytem

Forsal.pl - Warszawa,mazowieckie,Poland
Prawdziwy meteoryt odkryty w chińskiej miejscowości Fukang. Fot. Bloomberg Tele2 obiecało wczoraj zwrócić bałtyckiej republice koszty wysłania oddziałów ...

Meteorite stunt backfires on Swedish telecoms firm

Brand Republic
by Jennifer Whitehead, Brand Republic 28-Oct-09, 09:40 LONDON - A publicity campaign involving a hoax meteorite in Latvia has backfired spectacularly with ...

London destroyed by space meteor - actually a hoax

The Spoof (satire)
This week, 24 hour world news coverage has been depicting London as a huge flaming crater after a devastating meteor impact. But when humanitarian aid ...

Don't blame media for 'balloon boy' hoax

Enid News & Eagle
Just Monday it was revealed what scientists originally thought was a large impact crater in Latvia caused by a meteorite was actually a hoax. ...

Asteroid blast reveals holes in Earth's defences

Courier Mail
Oh Dear, I expect greenhouse gases have increased because of this meteor/asteroid blast, and that means more tax increases doesn't it? ...

Tele2 in a hole over publicity stunt

Financial Times
An elaborate publicity stunt by a Swedish mobile phone company involving a faked meteorite strike in a Latvian meadow has provided a new case study on how a ...

Tele2 in a hole over 'meteor' publicity stunt

CNN International
By Andrew Ward, The Financial Times An elaborate publicity stunt by a Swedish mobile phone company involving a faked meteorite strike in a Latvian meadow ...

Telco admits meteorite hoax
The New Zealand Herald Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:25 PM PDT
RIGA - A Swedish mobile phone operator acknowledged it was behind an elaborate meteorite hoax in Latvia and pledged to reimburse the Baltic nation for all costs spent by police, rescue and military workers in the incident.Vita...

Tele2 to pay up for publicity stunt
Financial Times Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:18 PM PDT
An elaborate publicity stunt by a Swedish mobile phone company involving a faked meteorite strike in a Latvian meadow has provided a new case study on how a marketing campaign can backfire.

Mobile Phone Firm Behind Latvia Meteorite Hoax
KFWB News 980 Los Angeles Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:18 AM PDT
A Swedish mobile phone operator admitted the move was designed "to draw attention away from Latvia's economic crisis and toward something else more interesting."

Alleged Latvia Meteorite A Hoax
redOrbit Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:08 AM PDT
Yesterday it was purported to be the site of a meteorite crash, but today a telephone company admitted it was a hoax.Firefighters rushed to a farm near the northern town of Mazsalaca at 5:30 p.m.

Mobile Firm Admits 'Meteor' Was A PR Stunt
SkyNews via Yahoo! UK & Ireland News Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:40 AM PDT
A mobile phone company has admitted being behind an elaborate meteorite hoax in Latvia.

Latvian police reject criminal case over meteorite hoax
Russian Information Agency Novosti Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:31 AM PDT
Latvian police decided not to initiate a criminal investigation over the hoax meteorite strike staged in the Baltic state by a Latvian mobile operator, the Delfi web portal said on Tuesday.

Huge Meteorite Crater Deemed a Hoax
Discovery Channel Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:55 AM PDT
The large hole found in a Latvian field was made by spades, not a giant meteorite.

Mobile phone firm behind meteorite hoax
Independent Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:45 AM PDT
A Swedish mobile phone operator acknowledged today it was behind an elaborate meteorite hoax in Latvia and pledged to reimburse the Baltic nation for all costs spent by police, rescue and military workers in the incident.

Swedish telecoms firm admits to Latvia meteorite hoax
The Local Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:34 AM PDT
Swedish-owned telecoms company Tele2 admitted on Monday it was responsible for staging a meteorite crash near a small village in the Latvian countryside.

BLAST OVER BONE WATERS RESULT OF FALLING METEORITE, SAYS EXPERT
Bernama via Yahoo! Malaysia News Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:30 AM PDT
JAKARTA, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- After a three-week investigation, astronomers at the Indonesian National Aeronautics and Space Agency concluded that an air explosion over Bone waters in South Sulawesi on Oct 8 was the result of a falling meteorite.

Brits Getting Worried Our Black President Is No Morgan Freeman

Gawker
Just another thirty feet across, and it would have been a weapon of mass destruction, that petit meteor that recently exploded in the skies above Indonesia. ...

Bright light in sky causes commotion

McPherson Sentinel
The general consensus is that it was a meteorite, however there is no determination as to where it made impact. ...

Lettischer Meteoriten-Scherz wird teuer

Nürnberger Nachrichten - Nurnberg,Bayern,Germany
RIGA - Der medienwirksame Scherz über einen angeblichen Meteoriten-Einschlag kommt eine lettische Telefongesellschaft teuer zu stehen. ...

Sky News
Mobile Firm Admits 'Meteor' Was A PR Stunt

Sky News
She said nine people dug the hole and burned chemicals at the bottom to create the illusion of a meteorite crash. Their video of a smoking hole later ...

Did a Meteorite, or Nerdy Hoaxsters, Strike Latvia?

Wired News
But something about this presumed meteorite impact seemed fishy and conflicting reports emanated from the Baltic state about the nature of the incident. ...

The Tech Herald
Video: Amazing meteorite footage thought to be student prank

The Tech Herald
What a real meteor crater generally looks like. Image: kevinzim/Flickr. More pointedly, scientists descending on the town of Mazsalaca in Latvia to examine ...
See all stories on this topic
Mobile firm behind meteorite hoax

The Press Association
A Swedish mobile phone operator has acknowledged it was behind an elaborate meteorite hoax in Latvia and pledged to reimburse the Baltic nation for all ...

Mobile Phone Firm Behind Latvia Meteorite Hoax

New York Times
By AP RIGA, Latvia (AP) -- A Swedish mobile phone operator acknowledged Tuesday it was behind an elaborate meteorite hoax in Latvia and pledged to reimburse ...
See all stories on this topic
Pocket-lint.com
Mobiado Grand 350 Pioneer meteorite-toting mobile announced

Pocket-lint.com
With the new handset, the Grand 350 Pioneer, Mobiado is paying homage to NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft and it boasts the "compelling beauty of meteorite". ...
See all stories on this topic
The Next Reporter (blog)
Scientists doubt 'meteor crash' in Latvia

The Next Reporter (blog)
Scientists have launched an investigation of a meteorite-like object that has crashed near a farm in northern Latvia. Uldis Nulle, a scientist at the ...