Fireball reporting (was Re: (meteorobs) meteor[] seen in fort erie)

Lew Gramer Lew.Gramer at noaa.gov
Tue Jan 17 10:55:28 EST 2006


On Monday 16 January 2006 12:09, capie6 wrote:
> this is really strange.  i reported a meteorite sighting on jan 3rd
> and tonight I saw another one.  not as big and only lasted 1-2
> seconds, no sound and was in the western sky.  If anyone has seen
> this, please let me know.  The time was 11:25pm.  Does anyone know of
> a meteor shower tonight? (Jan. 15th)?????

Nothing strange about seeing meteors on any given night, Carolyn. (Remember, a 
'meteorite' is what sometimes - rarely - reaches the earth's surface after a 
'meteor' has occurred in the sky.)

And even if you happened to see two very BRIGHT meteors (called "fireballs" by 
researchers, believe it or not! :>) over the course of a couple of weeks, 
that is not really very unusual either. It all depends on how much time you 
spent WATCHING the clear, dark night sky during that period - and of course, 
how lucky you happen to be. :)

One thing, though. Whenever you see a very bright meteor - specifically, a 
meteor as bright as the planet VENUS or BRIGHTER, the rough definition of a 
"fireball" - be sure to submit a witness report! Please do these reports as 
soon after your sighting as possible, while details are still fresh...

There are several online forms for doing such reports. Take your pick!

    http://www.namnmeteors.org/fireball/report.html
    http://miac.uqac.ca/MIAC/fireball.htm
    http://www.amsmeteors.org/fireball/report.html

Clear skies,
Lew Gramer


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