(meteorobs) 20 may fireball

Michel Vandeputte michelvandeputte at hotmail.com
Wed Jun 2 13:30:15 EDT 2004


Hi, 



I collected some impressions and data about the great fireball  on may 20 above Southern Belgium/ North France. Please enjoy,



Michel Vandeputte

VVS Belgium meteor section 

Ducth Meteor Society



Event 9 :  extremely bright sporadic fireball (re entry space junk ?) on 20 may

 

-Date : 2004-05-20   

-Observers and location : 

 

  a.. Sophie Lanciet (Bellegem 50º46'  N - 3º16' E) ~ via VVS 
  b.. Karel Dewaele  ~ via Urania
  c.. Etienne Bogaert (Aalst - 50º56' N - 4º02' E)  ~ via Urania  at +-21.56 UT
  d.. Joke Devriendt (Geraardsbergen -  50º46' N - 3º53' E)  ~ via Urania     
  e.. Nederland via UFO lijst (drouwenerzand (NL) en Amsterdam (NL)
  f.. Bjorn Moonen  (Manhay - 50º17' N  - 5º40' E) ~ via Urania 
  g.. Hennie Kostner (NL ijmuiden) ~ via DMS
  h.. Franky Blanckaert (Bouillon  49º47' N  5º04' E) ~ via VVS
  i.. Clarysse Bondy (Hastiere -50º13 N -  4º49' E) - (Royal Observatory of Belgium)
  j.. Olivier Belangier (Corroy le grand  50º39'  N - 4º40' E) at 21.55 UT (Royal Observatory of Belgium)
  k.. Nancy Patuzzo (province de Namur) at 21.58 UT (Royal Observatory of Belgium)
  l.. Benoit Marchal (Ottignies  50º40' N - 4º34'  E) (Royal Observatory of Belgium)
  m.. Frederic Bussens (Marcinelle 50º24' N -  4º26' E) (Royal Observatory of Belgium)  ~21.50 UT
  n.. .. (Waulsort / Dinant  50º15' N  - 4º54' E) ~ around midnight.  (Royal Observatory of Belgium)
  o.. Wohlen (Switzerland) ~ AKM list 
  p.. Wiesbaden (Germany) ~ AKM list
 

-Time : around midnight. NL : 21.55 UT +- 1 minute 

-magnitude : brighter than full moon. Lit up the clouds and night sky

-duration : +-5 s 

-colours :  

  a.. blew , white at the end, white tail
  b.. Hennie Kostner : green
  c.. Bjorn Moonen and the Dutch obs : green 
  d.. Franky Blanckaert  : strong greenish/orange flare at the end.
  e.. Clarisse Bondy : long trail. Bright blue green ball with tail. 
  f.. Benoit Marchal : green / blue. 
  g.. Frederic Bussens : extremely bright - as big as the moon. 
  h.. .(Dinant observation) : blue white bright light during 1-2 seconds. 
  i.. Wiesbaden : green / half the size of the moon
            

-Train : 

  1.. Douwenerzand : from the east into south-western direction. 
  2.. Manhay : from the west into south eastern directions. 
  3.. Bellegem : from the south into eastern direction. 
  4.. Ijmuiden : south. Very fast / greenish / straight down ! 
  5.. Bouillon : from Cassiopeia (alt 40°) to Gemini (30°)
  6.. Hastiere : from the west into south eastern directions. 
  7.. Wohlen (Swiss) : from east into western directions - low above the horizon. 
  8.. Wiesbaden (GER) : die Sichtung ca. 20-25° am Horizont, wie gesagt Richtung NW. 
  9.. Aalst : in the south at 60° altitude. 

-fragmentation : ?

-persistent train : ?

-angular velocity : ?            or scale number : ?

-Sounds : one observation of sonic boom shortly after the event. 

 

Special remarks : remarkably bright event that lit up the whole night sky! Maybe  this could be a re entry of some  space junk? There were no decays on schedule at the moment of this event.  Some pilots witnessed this event from their aircraft above London and France. 
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