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spock (2)

Time to make your plans to see the Perseid meteor shower Sunday night/Monday morning. 12 things you'll need. Odds are you won't see something quite as impressive as this "super bolide" in Croatia (watch it to the end), but it will still be well worth your while. A new moon that night means unusually dark skies for the event, so you will have a chance to see even the dim ones, under dark skies.
posted by spock on Aug 10, 2007 - 28 comments

Fireballs are not altogether uncommon. They are often associated with known meteor showers (and other times not). They are sometimes "earth crosser" asteroids, cometary debris, or simply man-made space junk. Sometimes they are extremely well documented. The March 7, 2003 Park Forest fireball/meteorite (pdf) was recovered and recorded by police car cameras: (AVIs: 1, 2, 3) Perhaps the most incredible is the one that got away on August 10, 1972. Recorded by many still and movie cameras as it was seen in daylight over the Grand Tetons, it was also recorded by a previously secret satellite during it's 1-1/2 minute skip off the earth's atmosphere. See also: How to observe, and report fireballs.
posted by spock on Nov 10, 2006 - 29 comments