07 April 2011

The Latest Worldwide Meteor/Meteorite News 7APR2011 with Mustard

Souvenirs from space
Sydney Morning Herald
The ads are for chunks of meteorites, bits of asteroids that have fallen from the sky and are as prized by scientists as they are by collectors. As more meteorites have been discovered in recent years, interest in them has flourished and an illegal ...



4.5-Billion-Year-Old Antarctic Meteorite Yields New Mineral
LiveScience.com
by Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Managing Editor A meteorite discovered in Antarctica in 1969 has just divulged a modern secret: a new mineral, now called Wassonite. The amount of the new mineral found in the 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite was tiny ...



NASA Researchers Find Brand New Mineral in Old Meteorite
Universe Today
Researchers taking a new look at an old meteorite with a high-tech electron microscope have found a new mineral, now called Wassonite, in a space rock found in Anarctica back in 1969, the Yamato 691 enstatite chondrite. The meteorite likely originated ...



How Safe Is Safe Enough? To Engineers, It Depends
NPR
What if a meteorite falls on the plant? The facilities at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant were designed to withstand strong earthquakes and tsunamis, but not to the strength and size experienced on March 11. Corradini says nuclear power ...



David Richards — A close look at Vesta, the largest asteroid
Canton Repository
The Lyrid Meteor Shower peaks late Friday, May 22. Unfortunately, the light of the waning gibbous Moon will blot out all but the brightest of the usual 10 to 20 meteors an hour. Go to www.heavens-above.com to see what celestial sights are coming up ...

06 April 2011

Beaumont, Texas ISS Pass ~ 7:55 pm 5Apr2011

Beaumont, Texas ~7:55 pm 5Apr2011
Guest143 (guest):Beaumont, Texas about 7:55 pm 5Apr2011
I was driving in town and under the moon was a huge red tail from something that looked like it was falling directly toward earth. At first, I thought it might be the space junk in the news today, burning up?? I've never seen such a wide, long,tail. It was very large in the west sky and lasted about 5 min.,and there was another smaller red tail that went off sideways but still very noticeable.Exciting to see!  Thank you Beaumont, TX!
You most likely saw the ISS (International Space Station)!!!

More sightings of meteors?  Email LunarMeteoriteHunter@gmail.com
Thank You!

California Large Green Meteor Fireball 5APR2011

Riverside, California ~8:20pm 5APR2011
I was headed west bound on the 91 Frwy in Riverside, near Adams St., about 8:20 PM tonight (4/5/2011) when a meteor was right in front of us - largest one, including a long tail, that I have seen in my 63 years of living.  -Lyle

San Diego, CA

My daughter and I saw the biggest meteor we've ever seen tonight! We thought it might be a Roman candle since the Padres won today, but I don't think so because we didn't hear any sound or see any other fireworks of any kind. It was a big bright green streak going nearly straight down, but then just as it was fading out, it seemed to fragment and burn brighter again! It lasted at least 2-3 seconds and was very cool! By the way, this big, green fireball we saw in San Diego was at about 8:15 p.m. Pacific Time.
Julie Armitage


Los Angeles 
I was driving on the 134 freeway before hopping on the 2 freeway and looking at the skyscrapers in Los Angeles and saw the same greenish blue object coming from east to west though. It seemed like it was burning up fast in the atmosphere and could of landed in Glendale somewhere. I have never seen anything come into the atmosphere that bright before.  There were no stars in the sky and have never seen anything like that in the sky at only 8 Pm.  It wasn't completely dark outside so the colors it omitted were incredible and nothing like a shooting star.   I have heard nothing on the news also and very interested in it.  Have you ever seen them come into the atmosphere like that and so close??? From what i remember when seeing meteor showers and shooting starts they were high above and going over, and never coming at earth. 
- Jordan

Diamond Bar, California

Date/Time – April 5, 2011 8:20 PM
your location when viewed (city, country) – Diamond Bar, California
location in sky for the start and end of the meteor with angle from the horizon for the
start and end) - about South West going down sideways.. To the right of the moon
direction you were facing and meteor was moving right or left? – To the right
color(s) – Very green!!
meteor direction of travel – 90 degrees down closer towards earth's ground.. Kinda like this ---->> \ <<---
duration (secs) – I saw only about 1 second.. but I heard from twitter that it lasted about 5 seconds.. LUCKY!
brightness (bright as Venus, Moon, Sun?) – I think it was about as bright as how green fire would look.. not blinding at all.. but a very nice toned green not dark nor light
any sounds (sizzle or booms) – I was in the suv on the freeway so i didn't hear it at all... not sure if it made any noise or not..
fragmentation were pieces falling off ? – Not that I could see
and other comments that you think are important – it looked about 3 or 2/4ths the size of how the moon looked this day... so maybe a little smaller than a quarter of you put it out in front of you..
Ronnie

San Luis Obispo, CA
just driving back home at 8pm and saw a green meteor going down west ward, in san luis obispo county, looking south from templeton i saw the meteor going west beyond the mountains toward morro bay or avila beach
Emanuele Fiorentini


southern California. At approx. 8:20 PM PST
Hi, i am in southern California. At approx. 8:20 PM PST, i saw a green looking meteor come down in the south-west horizon. It was the weirdest thing i ever saw. My girlfriend searched for info and got your site. I'm glad it explained the strange color. -kalene haven


Santa Barbara, CA ~8:00pm

was riding my bicycle westbound at Santa Barbara and was at West Beach when I saw it.
The meteor was very bright, colorful (I remember some green and possibly some red), long, wide, and with a tail that stayed bright longer than I would have expected.
Its direction was East to West.
I initially thought it was a firework, except that it was too big and too high to be a firework.
Then I saw the other posts from places far away from here, which most definitely make it something else...
Sal.



San Marino, CA
I was traveling westbound through San Marino when I saw a green ball of light falling into the western horizon. It looked like the light that a helicopter has on it's bottom. I thought the helicopter was going to crash land. Then i realized it wasn't a helicopter but rather a meteor. There was no tail but it was very bright. I thought that due to its size, it's going to strike the Earth for sure. It happened after 8:00 on a Tuesday. - Albert Valdes

San Clemente, CA
I was sitting in the car with my boyfriend at about 8PM last night, in at North beach in San Clemente CA. We were sitting right behind the train tracks and I saw it (what looked like) falling into the ocean. It was bright white, and then all of a sudden an orange/blue tail appeared on it as it turned green and disappeared before it hit the ocean's horizon. It was moving to the right at about a 50 degree angle. It was the most amazing thing I've seen in my life. Never seen a green meteor before. - Buttons

South Gate, CA
I spotted the meteor that happened tonight april 5th 2011, it was around 8:20 pm , i was in south gate,CA It was VERY bright, a bluish greenish color with a very long tail but turned a red/orange color just before it faded away. It was headed downward from east to west at a very high speed and looked like it landed somewhere in the ocean. - Tony Martinez

Ontario Airport, California roughly 8:30pm
I saw something greenish/white hurtling through the sky toward the ground above Ontario Airport (California).April 5 - roughly 8:30pm. I was almost afraid it was a plane crashing but there was no explosion and it phased out before it seemed to hit the ground.Someone else at the airport had to have seen it too, there were planes on approach. -Grey Rzeznik


San Diego, CA
I saw it as I was jogging west in Adams ave and Park ave in SD Just after 8pm. It seemed close like it was shooting straight for downtown or the bay but was most likely farther out in the ocean. It was a very green bright streak at, from my point of view, a downward direction. No "fireball", more like a green laser beam. I'd say 80 degrees northward. I looked upward from it and there was Orion. The moon's Nothing in the news yet, of course. However 2.5 earthquake in exact area 3hrs later? Biggest thing I've ever seen in the sky. -Anon.


Cabazon, CA
On April 5, 2011 while driving West on the I-10 FWY from Palm Springs, CA to Los Angeles, CA (near Cabazon) I saw a green colored "shooting star" although my limited knowledge on astrology pretty much knew it was bigger and something more profound then a shooting star. It was really bright, green and a lot thicker than a shooting star. It was south of us over the mountain top and moved right and dropped south like it landed in the mountain, it was several feet in length...but possible burned off before it reached ground. It lasted only seconds; crazy that my husband and I both saw it together. Too far from us for any sound.
Feel free to ask any additional questions...
Rhonda Coombs


Long Beach, CA
Fireball sighting - 4/5/11- 8:15pm (PST) - Long Beach, CA
At apprx. 8:15pm (PST), I saw what appeared to be a fireball, bluish green in color spanning across the sky, downward, NE to SW direction... Facing in a SW direction, meteor started at 11 o'clock and ended at 3:30, if that makes any sense... Thank you!!!! - Jason

Acton, CA
Donald Vernon Barker: Green/yellow meteor. Seen from Acton looking west towards L.A. Green/yellow meteor. Seen from Acton looking west towards L.A. 8:15 p.m.Apr 6 2011, 12:34 PMDonald Vernon Barker: Green/yellow meteor. Seen from Acton looking west towards L.A. 8:15 p.m.


Canyon Country (Santa Clarita), California
Date/Time –April 5, 2011 about 8:20 p.m.
your location when viewed (city, country) – Canyon Country (Santa Clarita), California
location in sky for the start and end of the meteor with angle from the horizon for the
start and end) – From northeast to southwest
direction you were facing and meteor was moving right or left? – facing south came from my left
color(s) –white
meteor direction of travel – south, southwest
duration (secs) – 5 seconds
brightness (bright as Venus, Moon, Sun?) – brighter than the moon
any sounds (sizzle or booms) – no
fragmentation were pieces falling off ? – no, had a long tail
Jennifer Moss

SoCal
Saw it in Long Beach... Definite flare/explosion as it neared the horizon.. tail lingered for seconds... One of the most impressive meteors I've seen...
- Patrick Gough

L.A.
That was the most incedible thing I have ever seen over the skies of L.A. and I have lived here for all of my 32 years. Bright green fireball, it was almost like a green haze as it streaked across the sky. I was SW bound on Fletcher in Atwater Village and it came across at a diagonal(east to west) to me. Large flash as it entered and then the green followed by it breaking up with a final white/red flash as it dipped behind the horizon of the hollywood hills. AMAZING! why so green?....
 - Anon.

---
Guest521 (guest):Green meteor over LA 8:15PM 5APRIL2011

Guest920 (guest): red meteor. was close enough that i could could see it burning.south los angeles. 8:15pm

Guest595 (guest): I am in Corona Ca,saw a green meteor looking object traveling downward from East to West at approximately 8:15pm or so.

Guest854 (guest): Los Angeles, April 05 around 8:20 PM PST. Greenish blue ball and streak for only 2 seconds. Saw it looking SSW from Chatsworth CA from,N34 14.626 W118 36.519 - VERY low on the horizon.Looks like a few others saw this one too. Cool!

claired213: East Hollywood Los Angeles, CA April 05 2011 8:15pm I saw a large green ball with a tail as I traveled SW on Hyperion at Fountain. About 30 degrees on horizon.Lasted 2 seconds,about the size of a dime held at arms length. Amazing!

Guest852 (guest): We saw the same green meteor about 30° above the horizon heading east to west at about 8:15 in San Luis Obispo, CA.Must have been the same one others have seen in Southern CA.


Thank you all for your reports!
If Anyone else saw a meteor please email LunarMeteoriteHunter@gmail.com   Thank you!



(cut and paste into email with your answers; thanks)

Date/Time –
your location when viewed (city, country) – 
location in sky for the start and end of the meteor with angle from the horizon for the
start and end) - 
direction you were facing and meteor was moving right or left? – 
color(s) –
meteor direction of travel – 
duration (secs) – 
brightness (bright as Venus, Moon, Sun?) – 
any sounds (sizzle or booms) – 
fragmentation were pieces falling off ? – 
and other comments that you think are important – 
Your Name and contact information (contact information will remain confidential) 

Bellevue, Nebraska Large Ball of Green Fire Meteor 1:30am 4APR2011

Bellevue, Nebraska Large Ball of Green Fire Meteor 1:30am 4APR2011
On April 4, 2011 around 1:30 A.M. There was a large ball of green fire go across the sky. The fire ball was coming from the Northeast Direction and went towards the Southeast. It was very close, and was much larger then any stars. As it moved behind the tree line it broke off into three round pieces, and the color changed to orange. I am in Bellevue, Nebraska. -Becca   Thank you Becca!!


Anyone else with a report LunarMeteoriteHunter@gmail.com  
Thank you! - Tokyo, Japan

Genova, Italy Bolide Meteor Fireball as bright as Sun 5APR2011

Genova, Italy  Bolide bright as the Sun 
 6.20 am
 
 5APR2011
date / Time - 05-04-2011


When viewed your location (city, country) ) - Genova, Italy
location in the sky for the start and end of the meteor with angle from the horizon for the
start and end) -
You Were facing direction and meteor Was moving right or left? - left
color (s) - blue and green
meteor direction of travel -  sud - est
duration (secs) - 2 secs
brightness (bright as Venus, Moon, Sun?) - bright as  Sun
Any sounds (sizzle or booms) - no
Were fragmentation pieces falling off? - no
That and other comments you think are important - 
streak of light as a flame lighter, front end red form detached from the circular trail, red glow when it disappeared horizon  -fabrizio 
Thank you Fabrizo! 

If anyone else saw this event please email LunarMeteoriteHunter@gmail.com
We also need the time of the event. Thank you! -Tokio