[meteorite-list] Meteorite Picture of the Day

[Paul Swartz via Meteorite-list]

Today's Meteorite Picture of the Day: Sikhote Alin

Contributed by: Tomasz Jakubowski

http://www.tucsonmeteorites.com/mpodmain.asp?DD=10/02/2015
__

Visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/meteoritecentral and the 
Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
https://pairlist3.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

[meteorite-list] Allende slices selling for $35 to $50. Why?

[Paul Swartz via Meteorite-list]

Heritage also has some auctions marked as "no reserve" but they carry a minimum 
bid. Go figure!

Paul Swartz
IMCA 5204
MPOD Webmaster
__

Visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/meteoritecentral and the 
Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
https://pairlist3.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

Re: [meteorite-list] Brilliant Utah fireball – October 2, 2014, revisited

[Linton Rohr via Meteorite-list]

Thanks, Bob. Spectacular, indeed!
We really should all see one like that at least once!
I wish I would've put up an all-sky camera here, instead of just thinking 
about it.

Linton

-Original Message- 
From: Bob Falls via Meteorite-list

Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2015 9:05 PM
To: Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list]Brilliant Utah fireball – October 2, 2014, 
revisited


Hi Linton,

Great description of what must have been spectacular to witness in person!! 
We should all be so lucky to witness such a fireball; until then we have 
your wonderful account of your experience.


Best Regards,

Bob Falls

-Original Message-
From: Meteorite-list [mailto:meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com] On 
Behalf Of John Lutzon via Meteorite-list

Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2015 7:41 PM
To: Linton Rohr
Cc: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Brilliant Utah fireball – October 2, 2014, 
revisited



Hello Linton,

Great visual for sure!!!

I do have a spare shovel that i'll mail to you.
Thanks for the moment by moment...

John

- Original Message - 
From: "Linton Rohr via Meteorite-list" 

To: "Meteorite Mailing List" 
Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2015 9:30 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Brilliant Utah fireball – October 2, 2014, 
revisited



A year ago tonight, my wife and I witnessed a dazzling fireball here in
Torrey. I posted a report here, and noted that a few in the SLC area had
seen it heading this way. I've expanded on it a bit for a stargazing column
I've been writing for our little local paper. I'll post it below, just for
fun. I'd love to hear more from others who saw it.

Insider Stargazing Tips

Brilliant Utah fireball – October 2, 2014, revisited

I’ve spent a lot of hours outside, on a lot of nights, over many years,
looking at the sky at all hours of the night. Over those years I’ve seen
hundreds, if not thousands of meteors. Some were bright and some were dim,
but they’re always a joy to see. After I began collecting meteorites and
learning more about them, the meteor sightings became even more enjoyable.
There’s something fascinating about holding a piece of space in your hand.
But as I read stories about fireball sightings, or sometimes watched online
videos, I always felt a little envious. I needed to see one myself.
Finally, on October 2 of last year, my time came. It was truly amazing!
I shared it with friends at the time, but I wasn’t yet writing this column.
So though my words cannot do it justice, I’ll attempt to recount the
experience now - on its anniversary - so that you might envision the
spectacular event.
I had gotten up at 4:00 and was lying there, about to fall back to
sleep, when my wife Karen started shouting “LOOK!” When I opened my eyes,
the entire sky out our ample, northeast-facing windows was dazzling white!
The pinon and juniper trees were lit up like it was noon. A moment later, a
large, white, slow-moving fireball came into view at the top of our windows.
I estimated it to be at least half the diameter of the moon and it had a
long trail behind it. Karen described the tail as having an “electric
blue-green tint”. It may have just looked white to me because my pupils hadn’t
adjusted yet. Then it morphed into an orange fireball, with undulating
flames trailing out perhaps 3 degrees (six full moon widths) behind it! A
few small chunks fell from it, but for the most part, it remained intact
until it cooled into dark flight, which means the atmospheric friction had
slowed it down enough that it no longer glowed. The whole show lasted about
5 or 10 magical seconds, which will remain burned into my memory forever.
I usually compare bright meteors to Venus, but this one was more like
the sun! It was traveling from N/NW to E/SE and descending at about a 5 to
10 degree angle. It appeared to be right over the northern end of Capitol
Reef N.P., but was probably much further away... possibly over toward Moab
or even western Colorado. In fact, when I filed my report, I saw that a few
people way over in central Colorado had seen it, too. A couple early morning
astronomers in Salt Lake City reported seeing it heading our way. And I did
hear from a couple other local residents who also witnessed the spectacle,
but would love to know if anyone in Hanksville did. Or Bluff, Blanding, and
so on.
One thing that really amazes me is this: the farther away it actually
was, the more massive it must have been to appear so large from here! Most
‘shooting stars’ we see are only the size of a grain of sand, or perhaps a
pea, and they burn up long before they could ever reach the ground. Not this
one!
It took quite a while for us to calm down enough to get back to sleep.
Early in the morning, I wrote up the story and posted it to meteorite and
astronomy forums. I hoped that some of my meteorite hunting friends would
spring into 

[meteorite-list] AD-Millbillillie, Noritic Dio, ebay auctions,

[Gary Fujihara via Meteorite-list]

Aloha Meteorite lovers,

Big Kahuna has some Millbillillie eucrite individuals available, with beautiful 
glossy fusion crust and typical red soil staining. 
http://bigkahuna-meteorites.com/Milly.html

Big Kahuna has been searching for another Noritic Diogenite since the discovery 
of NWA 6928 back in 2011. There are only five known Noritic Diogenites, but two 
of them are AMSMET recoveries and inaccessible to normal humans, making 
Noritics a very scarce commodity. A pair of NWA 10268, a new Noritic Diogenite 
are listed on eBay:
NWA 10268 Noritic Dio 0.15g part slice - http://tinyurl.com/oc7y3us
NWA 10268 Noritic Dio 1.60g full slice - http://tinyurl.com/nc55z37

Big Kahuna is offering a plethora of interplanetary interlopers on eBay in 
auction ending tomorrow, Saturday, October 3. Of note are a pair of awesome 
Aussie eucrites (Millbillillie), a fantastic NWA eucrite with glossy fusion 
crust rippled with flowlines and rollover lipping, a Wolf Creek individual, and 
a lunar pea.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/fujmon/m.html

Gary Fujihara
Big Kahuna Meteorites Inc.
PO Box 4175, Hilo, HI  96720
(808) 640-9161
http://bigkahuna-meteorites.com/
http://www.ebay.com/sch/fujmon/m.html

__

Visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/meteoritecentral and the 
Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
https://pairlist3.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

Re: [meteorite-list] Brilliant Utah fireball – October 2, 2014, revisited

[Linton Rohr via Meteorite-list]

Thanks, John.
I wish the lack of a shovel was the only thing holding me back! ;^)
Linton

-Original Message- 
From: John Lutzon

Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2015 7:41 PM
To: Linton Rohr
Cc: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Brilliant Utah fireball – October 2, 2014, 
revisited



Hello Linton,

Great visual for sure!!!

I do have a spare shovel that i'll mail to you.
Thanks for the moment by moment...

John

- Original Message - 
From: "Linton Rohr via Meteorite-list" 

To: "Meteorite Mailing List" 
Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2015 9:30 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Brilliant Utah fireball – October 2, 2014, 
revisited



A year ago tonight, my wife and I witnessed a dazzling fireball here in
Torrey. I posted a report here, and noted that a few in the SLC area had
seen it heading this way. I've expanded on it a bit for a stargazing column
I've been writing for our little local paper. I'll post it below, just for
fun. I'd love to hear more from others who saw it.

Insider Stargazing Tips

Brilliant Utah fireball – October 2, 2014, revisited

I’ve spent a lot of hours outside, on a lot of nights, over many years,
looking at the sky at all hours of the night. Over those years I’ve seen
hundreds, if not thousands of meteors. Some were bright and some were dim,
but they’re always a joy to see. After I began collecting meteorites and
learning more about them, the meteor sightings became even more enjoyable.
There’s something fascinating about holding a piece of space in your hand.
But as I read stories about fireball sightings, or sometimes watched online
videos, I always felt a little envious. I needed to see one myself.
Finally, on October 2 of last year, my time came. It was truly amazing!
I shared it with friends at the time, but I wasn’t yet writing this column.
So though my words cannot do it justice, I’ll attempt to recount the
experience now - on its anniversary - so that you might envision the
spectacular event.
I had gotten up at 4:00 and was lying there, about to fall back to
sleep, when my wife Karen started shouting “LOOK!” When I opened my eyes,
the entire sky out our ample, northeast-facing windows was dazzling white!
The pinon and juniper trees were lit up like it was noon. A moment later, a
large, white, slow-moving fireball came into view at the top of our windows.
I estimated it to be at least half the diameter of the moon and it had a
long trail behind it. Karen described the tail as having an “electric
blue-green tint”. It may have just looked white to me because my pupils hadn’t
adjusted yet. Then it morphed into an orange fireball, with undulating
flames trailing out perhaps 3 degrees (six full moon widths) behind it! A
few small chunks fell from it, but for the most part, it remained intact
until it cooled into dark flight, which means the atmospheric friction had
slowed it down enough that it no longer glowed. The whole show lasted about
5 or 10 magical seconds, which will remain burned into my memory forever.
I usually compare bright meteors to Venus, but this one was more like
the sun! It was traveling from N/NW to E/SE and descending at about a 5 to
10 degree angle. It appeared to be right over the northern end of Capitol
Reef N.P., but was probably much further away... possibly over toward Moab
or even western Colorado. In fact, when I filed my report, I saw that a few
people way over in central Colorado had seen it, too. A couple early morning
astronomers in Salt Lake City reported seeing it heading our way. And I did
hear from a couple other local residents who also witnessed the spectacle,
but would love to know if anyone in Hanksville did. Or Bluff, Blanding, and
so on.
One thing that really amazes me is this: the farther away it actually
was, the more massive it must have been to appear so large from here! Most
‘shooting stars’ we see are only the size of a grain of sand, or perhaps a
pea, and they burn up long before they could ever reach the ground. Not this
one!
It took quite a while for us to calm down enough to get back to sleep.
Early in the morning, I wrote up the story and posted it to meteorite and
astronomy forums. I hoped that some of my meteorite hunting friends would
spring into action and start tracking it down. But another fireball in
northern Arizona – visible in mid-day – was reported that afternoon, and all
the attention turned to it. So somewhere out there, in the southeast corner
of Utah by my reckoning, lies one or more rocks from space, still waiting to
be found.

__

Visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/meteoritecentral and the 
Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com

Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
https://pairlist3.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list 


__

Visit 

[meteorite-list] Rosetta's First Peek at the Comet's Dark Side

[Ron Baalke via Meteorite-list]

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4728

Rosetta's First Peek at the Comet's Dark Side
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
October 1, 2015

Since its arrival at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the European Space 
Agency's Rosetta spacecraft has been surveying the surface and the environment 
of this curiously shaped body. But for a long time, a portion of the nucleus 
-- the dark, cold regions around the comet's south pole -- remained 
inaccessible 
to almost all instruments on the spacecraft.

Due to a combination of its double-lobed shape and the inclination of 
its rotation axis, Rosetta's comet has a very peculiar seasonal pattern 
over its 6.5-year-long orbit. Seasons are distributed very unevenly between 
the two hemispheres. Each hemisphere comprise parts of both comet lobes 
and the "neck."

For most of the comet's orbit, the northern hemisphere experiences a very 
long summer, lasting over 5.5 years, while the southern hemisphere undergoes 
a long, dark and cold winter. However, a few months before the comet reaches 
perihelion -- the closest point to the sun along its orbit -- the situation 
changes, and the southern hemisphere transitions to a brief and very hot 
summer.

When Rosetta arrived at 67P/C-G in August 2014, the comet was still 
experiencing 
its long summer in the northern hemisphere, and regions on the southern 
hemisphere received very little sunlight. Moreover, a large part of this 
hemisphere, close to the comet's south pole, was in polar night and had 
been in total darkness for almost five years.

With no direct illumination from the sun, these regions could not be imaged 
with Rosetta's OSIRIS (the Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote 
Imaging System) science camera, or its Visible, InfraRed and Thermal Imaging 
Spectrometer (VIRTIS). For the first several months after Rosetta's arrival 
at the comet, only one instrument on the spacecraft could observe and 
characterize the cold southern pole of 67P/C-G: the Microwave Instrument 
for Rosetta Orbiter (MIRO).

In a paper accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, 
scientists report on the data collected by MIRO over these regions between 
August and October 2014.

"We observed the 'dark side' of the comet with MIRO on many occasions 
after Rosetta's arrival at 67P/C-G, and these unique data are telling 
us something very intriguing about the material just below its surface," 
said Mathieu Choukroun from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, 
California, lead author of the study.

Observing the comet's southern polar regions, Choukroun and colleagues 
found significant differences between the data collected with MIRO's millimeter 
and sub-millimeter wavelength channels. These differences might point 
to the presence of large amounts of ice within the first few tens of 
centimeters 
below the surface of these regions.

"Surprisingly, the thermal and electrical properties around the comet's 
south pole are quite different than what is found elsewhere on the nucleus," 
said Choukroun. "It appears that either the surface material or the material 
that's a few tens of centimeters below it is extremely transparent, and 
could consist mostly of water ice or carbon-dioxide ice."

The difference between the surface and subsurface composition of this 
part of the nucleus and that found elsewhere might originate in the comet's 
peculiar cycle of seasons. One of the possible explanations is that water 
and other gases that were released during the comet's previous perihelion, 
when the southern hemisphere was the most illuminated portion of the nucleus. 
The water condensed again and precipitated on the surface after the season 
changed and the southern hemisphere plunged again into its long and cold 
winter.

These are, however, preliminary results, because the analysis depends 
on the detailed shape of the nucleus. At the time the measurements were 
made, the shape of the dark, polar region was not known with great accuracy.

"We plan to revisit the MIRO data using an updated version of the shape 
model, to verify these early results and refine the interpretation of 
the measurements," added Choukroun.

Rosetta scientists will be testing these and other possible scenarios 
using data that were collected in the subsequent months, leading to the 
comet's perihelion, which took place on Aug. 13, 2015 and beyond.

In May 2015, the seasons changed on 67P/C-G and the brief, hot southern 
summer, which will last until early 2016, began. As the formerly dark 
southern polar regions started to receive more sunlight,  it has been 
possible to observe them with other instruments on Rosetta, and the combination 
of all data might eventually disclose the origin of their curious composition.

"In the past few months, Rosetta has flown over the southern polar regions 
on several occasions, starting to collect data from this part of the comet 
after summer began there," said Matt Taylor, ESA Rosetta project 

[meteorite-list] Mars Odyssey THEMIS Images: September 28 - October 2, 2015

[Ron Baalke via Meteorite-list]

MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES
September 28 - October 2, 2015

o Candor Chasma - False Color (28 September 2015)
  http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20150928a

o Mawrth Valles - False Color (29 September 2015)
  http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20150929a

o Mawrth Valles - False Color (30 September 2015)
  http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20150930a

o Terra Sabaea - False Color (01 October 2015)
  http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20151001a

o Elysium Mons - False Color (02 October 2015)
  http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20151002a


All of the THEMIS images are archive here:

http://themis.asu.edu/latest.html

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission 
for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission 
Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University,
Tempe, in co.oration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. 
The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State 
University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor 
for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission 
operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a 
division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. 



__

Visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/meteoritecentral and the 
Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
https://pairlist3.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

[meteorite-list] Pluto's Big Moon Charon Reveals a Colorful and Violent History

[Ron Baalke via Meteorite-list]

http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20151001

Pluto's Big Moon Charon Reveals a Colorful and Violent History
October 1, 2015

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has returned the best color and the
highest resolution images yet of Pluto's largest moon, Charon - and
these pictures show a surprisingly complex and violent history.

At half the diameter of Pluto, Charon is the largest satellite relative
to its planet in the solar system. Many New Horizons scientists expected
Charon to be a monotonous, crater-battered world; instead, they're
finding a landscape covered with mountains, canyons, landslides,
surface-color variations and more.

"We thought the probability of seeing such interesting features on this
satellite of a world at the far edge of our solar system was low," said
Ross Beyer, an affiliate of the New Horizons Geology, Geophysics and
Imaging (GGI) team from the SETI Institute and NASA Ames Research Center
in Mountain View, California, "but I couldn't be more delighted with
what we see!"

High-resolution images of the Pluto-facing hemisphere of Charon, taken
by New Horizons as the spacecraft sped through the Pluto system on July
14, and transmitted to Earth on Sept. 21, reveal details of a belt of
fractures and canyons just north of the moon's equator. This great
canyon system stretches across the entire face of Charon, more than a
thousand miles, and probably around onto Charon's far side. Four times
as long as the Grand Canyon, and twice as deep in places, these faults
and canyons indicate a titanic geological upheaval in Charon's past.

"It looks like the entire crust of Charon has been split open," said
John Spencer, deputy lead for GGI at the Southwest Research Institute in
Boulder, Colorado. "In respect to its size relative to Charon, this
feature is much like the vast Valles Marineris canyon system on Mars."

The team has also discovered that the plains south of the canyon,
informally referred to as Vulcan Planum, have fewer large craters than
the regions to the north, indicating that they are noticeably younger.
The smoothness of the plains, as well as their grooves and faint ridges,
are clear signs of wide-scale resurfacing.

One possibility for the smooth surface is a kind of cold volcanic
activity, called cryovolcanism. "The team is discussing the possibility
that an internal water ocean could have frozen long ago, and the
resulting volume change could have led to Charon cracking open, allowing
water-based lavas to reach the surface at that time," said Paul Schenk,
a New Horizons team member from the Lunar and Planetary Institute in
Houston.

Even higher-resolution Charon images and composition data are still to
come as New Horizons transmits data, stored on its digital recorders,
over the next year - and as that happens, "I predict Charon's story will
become even more amazing!" said mission Project Scientist Hal Weaver, of
the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.

The New Horizons spacecraft is currently 3.1 billion miles (5 billion
kilometers) from Earth, with all systems healthy and operating normally.

New Horizons is part of NASA's New Frontiers Program, managed by the
agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. APL
designed, built, and operates the New Horizons spacecraft and manages
the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. SwRI leads the
science mission, payload operations, and encounter science planning.


Click on the image for the full image and caption.



Charon in Enhanced Color: NASA's New Horizons captured this
high-resolution enhanced color view of Charon just before closest
approach on July 14, 2015. The colors are processed to best highlight
the variation of Charon's surface properties.



Charon in Detail: Charon's cratered uplands at the top are broken by
series of canyons, and replaced on the bottom by the rolling plains of
the informally named Vulcan Planum.




Strikingly Different Worlds: A composite of enhanced color images
highlights the striking differences between Pluto and Charon.




Flying over Charon: Images from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft were
used to create this flyover video of Pluto's largest moon, Charon.


__

Visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/meteoritecentral and the 
Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
https://pairlist3.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

[meteorite-list] AD: 0.99USD auctions on EBay - Nice Allende slice, Chelyabinsk Collector SET, Thin Section, Belize tektite and others

[cbo via Meteorite-list]

Dear Collectors!

Ending on weekend of my few 0.99 USD auctions on EBay, No reserve !!!


Huge Allende CV3 - very nice Fusion crusted end-cut 15.83 gr - 0.99 USD (now
106.50 USD)
http://tinyurl.com/oz9nuna

Chelyabinsk Collector SET - 0.99 USD (now 51 USD)
11.12 gr nice meteorite+local authentic Russian newspaper+broken glasses
http://tinyurl.com/phmnb8v

Thin Section of Dalgety Downs L4, Australia, 1941 - 0.99 USD (now 11 USD)
http://tinyurl.com/nc9xzpz

Ultra rare BELIZE Tektite from Belize 6.17 gr - 299 USD One of the first on
EBay!
http://tinyurl.com/qywtezh

Colector Box holders (in pair) for 35 USD
http://tinyurl.com/od56xh8


Or see them here:
http://stores.ebay.com/eurodome

If you like them and want to buy them please bid or contact me.

Best Regards!

Zsolt Kereszty
IMCA#6251
Meteoritical Society
Hungary

__

Visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/meteoritecentral and the 
Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
https://pairlist3.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

Re: [meteorite-list] Brilliant Utah fireball – October 2, 2014, revisited

[John Cabassi via Meteorite-list]

G'Day Linton
Thoroughly enjoyed your write up. So how are things going in your
neighborhood?  Miss you mate.

Cheers
John Cabassi



On Fri, Oct 2, 2015 at 10:46 AM, Linton Rohr via Meteorite-list
 wrote:
> Thanks, John.
> I wish the lack of a shovel was the only thing holding me back! ;^)
> Linton
>
> -Original Message- From: John Lutzon
> Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2015 7:41 PM
> To: Linton Rohr
> Cc: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Brilliant Utah fireball – October 2, 2014,
> revisited
>
>
> Hello Linton,
>
> Great visual for sure!!!
>
> I do have a spare shovel that i'll mail to you.
> Thanks for the moment by moment...
>
> John
>
> - Original Message - From: "Linton Rohr via Meteorite-list"
> 
> To: "Meteorite Mailing List" 
> Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2015 9:30 PM
> Subject: [meteorite-list] Brilliant Utah fireball – October 2, 2014,
> revisited
>
>
> A year ago tonight, my wife and I witnessed a dazzling fireball here in
> Torrey. I posted a report here, and noted that a few in the SLC area had
> seen it heading this way. I've expanded on it a bit for a stargazing column
> I've been writing for our little local paper. I'll post it below, just for
> fun. I'd love to hear more from others who saw it.
>
> Insider Stargazing Tips
>
> Brilliant Utah fireball – October 2, 2014, revisited
>
> I’ve spent a lot of hours outside, on a lot of nights, over many years,
> looking at the sky at all hours of the night. Over those years I’ve seen
> hundreds, if not thousands of meteors. Some were bright and some were dim,
> but they’re always a joy to see. After I began collecting meteorites and
> learning more about them, the meteor sightings became even more enjoyable.
> There’s something fascinating about holding a piece of space in your hand.
> But as I read stories about fireball sightings, or sometimes watched online
> videos, I always felt a little envious. I needed to see one myself.
> Finally, on October 2 of last year, my time came. It was truly amazing!
> I shared it with friends at the time, but I wasn’t yet writing this column.
> So though my words cannot do it justice, I’ll attempt to recount the
> experience now - on its anniversary - so that you might envision the
> spectacular event.
> I had gotten up at 4:00 and was lying there, about to fall back to
> sleep, when my wife Karen started shouting “LOOK!” When I opened my eyes,
> the entire sky out our ample, northeast-facing windows was dazzling white!
> The pinon and juniper trees were lit up like it was noon. A moment later, a
> large, white, slow-moving fireball came into view at the top of our windows.
> I estimated it to be at least half the diameter of the moon and it had a
> long trail behind it. Karen described the tail as having an “electric
> blue-green tint”. It may have just looked white to me because my pupils
> hadn’t
> adjusted yet. Then it morphed into an orange fireball, with undulating
> flames trailing out perhaps 3 degrees (six full moon widths) behind it! A
> few small chunks fell from it, but for the most part, it remained intact
> until it cooled into dark flight, which means the atmospheric friction had
> slowed it down enough that it no longer glowed. The whole show lasted about
> 5 or 10 magical seconds, which will remain burned into my memory forever.
> I usually compare bright meteors to Venus, but this one was more like
> the sun! It was traveling from N/NW to E/SE and descending at about a 5 to
> 10 degree angle. It appeared to be right over the northern end of Capitol
> Reef N.P., but was probably much further away... possibly over toward Moab
> or even western Colorado. In fact, when I filed my report, I saw that a few
> people way over in central Colorado had seen it, too. A couple early morning
> astronomers in Salt Lake City reported seeing it heading our way. And I did
> hear from a couple other local residents who also witnessed the spectacle,
> but would love to know if anyone in Hanksville did. Or Bluff, Blanding, and
> so on.
> One thing that really amazes me is this: the farther away it actually
> was, the more massive it must have been to appear so large from here! Most
> ‘shooting stars’ we see are only the size of a grain of sand, or perhaps a
> pea, and they burn up long before they could ever reach the ground. Not this
> one!
> It took quite a while for us to calm down enough to get back to sleep.
> Early in the morning, I wrote up the story and posted it to meteorite and
> astronomy forums. I hoped that some of my meteorite hunting friends would
> spring into action and start tracking it down. But another fireball in
> northern Arizona – visible in mid-day – was reported that afternoon, and all
> the attention turned to it. So somewhere out there, in the southeast corner
> of Utah by my reckoning, lies one or more