MBIQ (Meteor Bot Internet Query) Indicates Large Meteor Event(s) Manitoba Canada, South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota 19OCT2011
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MBIQ (Meteor Bot Internet Query) Indicates Large Meteor Event(s) Seen Manitoba Canada, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota 19OCT2011
v.4 (c) 2011 LunarMeteorite*Hunter / Google Earth
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Ft. Collins, Colorado Bright Neon Green Meteor 02:30 19OCT2011Date/Time – 10/19/2011 0230 Mountain Time
your location when viewed (city, country) – Fort Collins, Colorado (Campust West)
location in sky for the start and end of the meteor with angle from the horizon for the start and end) – Became visible about 30-40 degrees above horizon, ended at almost horizon level, disappearing behind downtown.
direction you were facing and meteor was moving right or left? – I was facing almost directly North West, the meteor was moving to the left (north)
color(s) – Bright neon green trail, the yellow flash of the meteor itself was visible only for a 5th of a second or so. Also certain I saw brief flashing streaks of blue or purple.
meteor direction of travel – down left at an almost exact 45% angle, moving north
duration (secs) – The fall itself was probably between 3/4ths and a full second, it was significantly faster than most I've seen, but the green trail, in the early morning pure dark, lingered for a full 5-6 seconds
brightness (bright as Venus, Moon, Sun?) – Go to the planetarium. Watch a laser-light show. That incredibly neon green vivid light? That. That's almost exactly the color and intensity.
any sounds (sizzle or booms) – Couldn't be sure if the pop I heard a split second later was related. There was definitely siren background noise from the direction it was in while it was falling, which may have covered up any sound it may have made
fragmentation were pieces falling off ? – There was one major clear meteorite which flashed for a split second at about 15% off horizon, but while falling at least a half dozen other pieces fell off, as there were at least that many secondary, slightly less bright, slightly off angle, green trails.
and other comments that you think are important – Definitely have never seen anything that left a trail for that duration or that brightness before. Much less in that color. By far the most beautiful celestial event I've witnessed.
Jacob Bernal Thank you very much Jacob!
Plymouth, MN Meteor 3:25 AM Central 19OCT2011
I've never seen a meteor before, but I found your website while trying to figure out what I saw this morning. At approximately 3:25 AM, I was in Plymouth, MN looking almost directly south when I saw an extremely bright streak of light with seemingly rainbow-colored fringes. It lasted just a fraction of a second and ended in a brief burst of white light like an explosion. I didn't hear any sound. While burning it was easily as bright as the moon. I thought it was lightning at first, but it moved in a perfect arc, and there was no other lightning activity at the time. I'm not much of a sky watcher, so I can't really tell you much about where it was exactly in the sky, but I hope this report helps. -Joel K. Thank you Joel!
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada Bright Neon Green Meteor 3:30 am Central Time 19OCT2011
Start and Stop location in sky? Started approx. 45 degrees above horizon, and ended right at the horizon
Direction of movement? I was facing South, and it was traveling West
Duration of Event (seconds)? 1 second, if that. It was Quite fast
Brightness ( in comparison with Venus, Moon, Sun) color, sounds? It was a bright neon green at the tail, and then turned into a blueish purple. It was fairly bright (like a neon glow stick!)
-Britta A. Thank you Britta!
Sioux City, Iowa
I've never seen a meteor of this size before. It was about 3:30am 10/19/2011 I'm from Sioux Center, IA. I went on my porch facing south. I was lighting my cigarette and was looking down and suddenly it was like bright daylight outside, I ducked not knowing what was happening. It only lasted less than a second. Then I looked up seeing and hearing nothing. I looked to the west and I could see a very long line of smoke hanging in the air heading west and it lingered there for maybe 30 secs. It was a pretty intense experience. - Nathan N. Thank you Nathan!
Crooks, South Dakota
I found your email address as I was searching today for any information about something I saw in the night sky last night as I was letting my dog use the bathroom. I know it was the same thing the other sighter saw because it was exactly as I would describe it. It was at 3:25 am on 10/19/11 almost directly above me. I leaned over the grass to set my little dog down to do her job and there was this incredible flash of light. It seemed even brighter than lightening and the sky was clear so I knew that wasn’t it. It flashed very quickly and I was almost afraid to look up to see what I’d see. It was a great light that streaked across the sky but it seemed to burst from the center instead of shooting across. I was in Crooks, South Dakota, just outside Sioux Falls. What I saw wasn’t much of an arch but more of a straight line, but I too saw the wonderful colors and then watched as the straight line turned into almost a curly autograph that began to fade. It took several minutes for it to fade entirely. I wanted to get my husband up to see it, but I was afraid it would be gone by the time I got him out there. It was incredible and I’ve never seen anything like it. -Maria Thank you Maria!
York, Nebraska
October 19…3:30 am…Driving West on Interstate 80 near York, NE. To my North, it descended at a 45 degree arc and ended about 1/3 of the way above the ground with an amazing bright light. The tail trail of the path was visible for the next 15 seconds. The most amazing sight I’ve seen from the sky, ever. It stopped before the horizon so I assume it burned up before impact. It was BRIGHT white with a blue and orange tail and a burning path behind it. I hope someone has video! -Scott Thank you Scott!
Between Hebron and Geneva, Nebraska
While driving between Hebron and Geneva Nebraska, I was startled by a meteor that flared a green and bluish color which was bright enough to light up the road for a second! It was traveling westward and only lasted for a few seconds. I’ve seen plenty of meteors before, but nothing like this. It occurred approximately 03:45 am on 10/19/2011 it was also seen by fellow company drivers, one was in York Nebraska, and the other driver was near Kearney Nebraska, both commented that it was almost like a firework. -Adam Thank you Adam!
Cameron, Missouri
Attn Lunar Meteorite Hunter, My dad witnessed what I believe to be the same meteor this morning. He was driving along I35 thru Cameron MO. Oct 19 2011 2:24 Central time Cameron MO
Started 75 deg West-North-West ,Stopped 40 deg West-North-West
Appeared to be traveling straight down. Duration of Event (seconds)? 2-3 seconds. Bright as a bolt of lightning. Started white, then transitioned to green. Most of the life was green, only white at the beginning.. Fragmentation - Yes, at the end of travel Thank you, Joe Bockemehl
Thank you Joe!
Orchard, NE.
My husband and I happened to wake up for a around 3:20 this morning, Oct.19, 2011. We suddenly saw a flash of light, like a huge explosion, and looked to the sky northeast of us to see a cloud of smoke followed by a 45 degree smoke trail toward earth. We were actually quite alarmed and sure we had just witnessed a plane being shot out of the sky. Glad to find out it was a meteor. We'll have to keep our imaginations in check if we ever see anything like this again. -Linn
Thank you Linn!
Kansas City, Missouri Downtown airport (MKC) at 3:30 AM
I was taxing after landing at the Kansas City Downtown airport (MKC) at 3:30 AM, looking north. I witnessed a very bright meteor, that left a smoke trail visible in the night sky. This was the most colorful meteor I’ve ever seen. It was green, orange and yellow. It seemed to burst into a very bright white ball just before disappearing.-Mark K. Thank you Mark!
Torrington, Wyoming Meteor 2:30 AM Mountain
I live in torrington wy. I was driving home from work it was about 2:30 am. I thought it was a firework.when I seen it it was like a shooting star. It was bright green blue. Beautiful! -Sarah
Thank you Sarah!
Ipswich, South Dakota at 3:30 am GIANT Green Fireball 19OCT2011
It was seem in Ipswich South Dakota at 3:30 am CST South East of Town.
Mary Greeley Thank you Mary!
Sidney, Nebraska Meteor Fireball ~02:27 AM MT 19OCT2011
On eastbound train between Sidney and Sunol Nebraska at 02:27 MT on 10-19 saw meteor fireball in sky to the north appeared to be traveling from southeast to north, northwest with various colors of aqua green to bluish with a white tail and was bright enough to light up the sky and surrounding area for a split second, but lasted 2-3 seconds in the sky. Exploded and fragmented into several pieces, faded and went dark, but was still able to see a smoke trail in the darkened sky for about 15 seconds. Never seen anything like it before with such brightness and colors. A spectacular sight. Nightrider. -Myshabah Thank you Myshabah!
Blair, Nebraska
I saw the meteor on 10/19/11 as well. I just finished reading some of the other witness' accounts and thought I'd send you mine. I saw it while driving home from work. I was driving north-northwest on US30 about 3 miles south of Blair, NE. I saw it almost directly in front of me just slightly to the right at about 330am. I saw it streak from an almost green color starting at about 80 degrees above the horizon slightly north or directly overhead, into a very thick bright white that lit up the entire sky from about 60-30 degrees above the northern horizon, then into a reddish-brown just before dissipating about 10 degrees above the northern horizon. It lasted maybe a second. I was fully expecting to see some kind of explosion from impact, but saw nothing (thank goodness). The smoke trail hung in the atmosphere for about ten minutes with the thickest part starting to twist around being where it had flashed bright white. - Justin Thank you Justin!
Sycamore, KS.
Over the past several decades I have tried to watch various large meteor showers (Perseids, Leonids, etc) with varied success. I've never seen anything like this. I was driving North on a 2 lane highway in SE Kansas. At 3:24 am (according to my synchronized cellphone clock) I saw the meteor. I don't think it flashed or lit the sky before it entered my field of view. There was a very bright trail, like a flash, which first appeared about 35 degrees above the horizon on the far left side of my windshield. It traveled upper right to lower left at an angle of about 30 degrees. The object seemed to hit the ground with a large flash, fairly close by, behind some trees, and was as bright as a large flash of lightning. Estimating distance is hard for something like that, but I am guessing it hit the ground 2 to 5 miles away. The most amazing thing to me was the remaining trail in the sky. It was relatively short in distance, extending from the ground only about 35 degrees above the horizon at an angle to the right of about 30 degrees, but for the one to two seconds the trail remained in the sky it was very bright-- brighter than the moon that night-- and was mostly white but showed every color of the rainbow. There was no dominant color, but all colors were very vivid; brighter than jewel tones. Like the colors you see in a black opal under bright light, but far brighter. Not quite sparkling, but during that brief moment the colors changed as the heat dissipated. Then it was gone.
I immediately hit the location button on my gps, and I was here: 37.342185,-95.708084. The location of the ground strike might be about 3 to 6 miles NNW of Sycamore, KS.
From your map it looks like I was on the south end of a major event, all occurring at about the same moment. Any idea what might have caused this? Surely not a random meteor shower, like the Orionids. It's like a single object broke up, high in the atmosphere and scattered and landed all over the upper midwest at the same time. It wasn't the German satellite, was it? Or did we all see the same object at the same time from different vantage points? It was so bright and vivid on a cold, clear winter-like night (breezy, low humidity, dry, clean air), is that possible? That a single major meteorite fell and we all thought it was close to us? If I extrapolate direction from my sighting, it could be on a line that includes Lincoln, Sioux City and Sioux Falls? And if it was that far north, it would have been quite low on my horizon, as it was, and almost overhead further north, like it apparently was in SD, MN, NE, IA?
Thanks for the stills of the security camera. Would love to see any other security video as it becomes available. I will be checking your site for more info and maybe a solution to this mystery!
~ Ted Thank you Ted!
Storm Lake,IA.
I saw this as I was driving my semi due west. South, southeast of Storm lake,IA. I saw a flash that was VERY bright, but it was in the left corner of my windshield. didnt see the flash, but general idea of where it came from. then I saw the "meteorite" come down on the right side of my windshield. I still cannot understand how this streak came from the direction of the flash. The speed and angle just did not match up. The streak was bigger than anything I have ever seen, and I see countless shooting stars, as I drive 90% from midnight on. This was NOTHING like anything I have ever seen. The size of it was like holding a pencil in my right hand, straight out at arms length. The angle was about 4 oclock, maybe 4:30. But surely NOT where the flash that caught my attention from the road came from. Its color depth was amazing, all blue streak, them seemed to split apart going to red, then white then GONE. I saw no arc, it seemed very intent, almost like it was aiming for a certain spot. I pulled over(understatement), and waited for the nuclear blast to vaporize me, as I scanned the sky for more nukes. I truly thought thats what it was. I have seen plenty of strange things in the sky, and have came to overlook most, but this had me truly scared, then baffled as to what it was. The lines of the trail were so defined, almost etchasketch like, two stair steps back to back .The bigger trail, just stopped, changed color into the smaller trail, then just vanished. It changed so fast, the color, the size. It just looked like the redone special effects in Star Wars, just so out of place, and artificial, overcolored... just not something natural. Someone surely has video of this I hope, as I find it hard to believe it was a meteor. If so where is it? The crater would have to be huge. I have to see it. Have to know. -Mike S. Thank you Mike!
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Sioux City, Iowa
I live in sioux city iowa and was driving home northbound on or about 3600 hamilton blvd when a bright light illuminated the sky as if fireworks were being detonated, which is strange considering it was about 330 am cdt. i looked out my window to the west and saw one very large and bright object moving towards the east (approximately). its brightness was much MUCH more than any meteor or shooting star ive ever seen. it left a trail of greenish smoke like a jet but much larger, the meteors smoke trail stayed in the sky for a considerable time 30-60 sec. it was very close and low not like anything ive ever seen it was quite incredible, i even thought i might hear about it the next day on the local news which i did. its brighness was more than venus or even the moon but still able to look directly at it. It was less bright than the sun but very close. does anyone know where it hit? if i had to guess it was closer to the ground than a commercial airplane flies.
-Brett B. Thank you Brett!
Press coverage begins:
Nebraska man reports meteorite breaks into hundreds of 'rainbow colored' pieces
Examiner.com
He saw the meteorite fly past overhead directly over my farmhouse completely lighting up the farm a half mile north of his location with hundreds of smaller meteorites. Then as it went behind the farm he heard-felt a thump and saw a brighter flash ... |
Lincoln Journal Star
These images, which were pulled from video taken at the Lincoln Airport, show the object moving across the sky. (Courtesy images) The fireball fell from the sky -- streaking the colors of the rainbow and trailing smoke -- at 3:24 am, while most of ...
First, the news stories I just discovered from a brief search. Then my story. ~Ted
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This post is based on Internet generated activity YOUR confirmation is important!
We need your witness reports with the following:
Date and Time of event? Location name (town,city) where you were when saw the meteor? Start and Stop location in sky? Direction of movement? Duration of Event (seconds)? Brightness ( in comparison with Venus, Moon, Sun) color, sounds? Photos? Videos? please email
LunarMeteoriteHunter@gmail.com Your reports make it possible for all to check what they saw as well. Thank you!
2011The Year of Meteors!
