(meteorobs) australia again? (OT...sorry)

Arlene Carol arlene.carol at gmail.com
Wed Feb 21 12:42:30 EST 2007


is it my imagination or do these 'events' seem to occur in Australia more
than other places? it sure seems that way.


On February 19th, late-night sky watchers across Australia witnessed a
bright explosion followed by a debris cloud that hung in the sky for nearly
an hour.  At first a mystery, the source of the blast is now understood.  It
was a Russian Briz-M rocket booster misplaced in orbit last year by the
failed launch of an Arabsat communications satellite.  The fuel tanks of the
Briz-M ruptured on Feb. 19th, producing a vivid naked-eye display and more
than 1000 pieces of debris.  Experts are calling this a "major breakup
event," comparable to or even worse than last month's Chinese anti-sat test.

Visit http://spaceweather.com for more information and pictures of the
Briz-M breakup.


arlene
south of troy


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