http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/sep/14/fireball-reportedly-seen- san-diego-county/?sciquest
There have been numerous reports that a very bright meteor -- also known as a fireball -- was widely seen Wednesday night by people from San Diego to Los Angeles to Las Vegas and across to Arizona. Scientists confirm that people likely saw the flash that is produced when a piece of interplanetary material strikes Earth's atmosphere and burns up. "It was a bright green ball with green streaks or flames behind it," said Andrea Siedsma, who spotted the meteor at about 7:45 p.m. from Encinitas. "It was moving at a good speed diagonally. My neighbors said they saw it from really high in the sky ... I was too awestruck to take a photo. I just stood there and watched." Scott Barnett, a trustee of the San Diego Union School District, said by email, "I saw a bright green fluorescent fire ball, it looked like a 4th of July roman candle, arching downward in the eastern sky. It lasted so long that I was able to point it out to my colleague and it continued for several seconds longer. It appeared to break into pieces (or at least smaller, whiter sections) just before it fell beyond the horizon. I have never seen a shooting star as bright or last so long." Hailey Persinger, a Union-Tribune reporter, said, "I saw it while sitting on the patio in North Park. Crazy." Ryan Wilson says in our Comments section, "I was watching from Shelter Island in San Diego and watched it burn over downtown lights. Burnt for a loong time, was rad! Nothing like dinner on the water watching meteors." "This sort of thing is common. It's just that people aren't looking up at the sky, so they don't see them." said Dennis Mamanna, a sky photographer who lives in Borrego Springs The event was also widely seen from Arizona. TV station ABC15 in Phoenix says it took an image of the fireball, which is shown here. ABC15 reports on its website that, "We received four calls (total) regarding the light in the sky," a Phoenix Police spokesman told the station. "Our air unit, myself, and other officers also observed it as well. We all made our wishes and went back to work." The American Meteor Society says, "A fireball is another term for a very bright meteor, generally brighter than magnitude -4, which is about the same magnitude of the planet Venus in the morning or evening sky. A bolide is a special type of fireball which explodes in a bright terminal flash at its end, often with visible fragmentation." Dennis Mamanna, a well-known sky photographer in Borrego Springs, said, "I didn't see anything. But this sort of thing is common. It's just that people aren't looking up at the sky, so they don't see them." _______________________________________________ Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
