Asteroid 2008 TC3 comes to Earth

[Rick]

Boulder-Size Asteroid to Be Fireball Over Earth Monday

A boulder-size asteroid discovered just a few hours ago will become a bright fireball when it enters Earth's atmosphere at about 10:46 eastern time tonight, astronomers announced.

The space rock—which is believed to be between 3 and 15 feet (1 and 5 meters) wide—is not a threat, as it will completely disintegrate before it reaches the ground, the scientists say.

More: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081006-asteroid-fireball.html

(Bit late on this one... Anyone seen any other reports about the same object?)

[Rick]

There was a spectacular show in the sky early Tuesday morning when a small asteroid entered the earth's atmosphere, releasing a huge amount of light and energy before exploding. This brief flash was captured by Meteosat-8 in Rapid Scan Service, ...

More: http://www.eumetsat.int/Home/Main/Media/Features/707785?l=en

[Rick]

On October 7, the early dawn over northern Sudan revealed this twisted, high altitude trail. Captured in a video frame, the long-lasting persistent train is from the impact of a small asteroid cataloged as 2008 TC3.

More: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap081108.html

[Carole]

Came a fair bit later than predicted then.  I went out to watch for a while on 7th but gave up after about 1/2 hour.

Interesting that the trail is curly, I was expecting a straight trail.

Carole

[MarkS]

Maybe non-uniform atmospheric movements (i.e. different winds at different layers) have distorted a trail that was originally straight ...

[Rick]

The predictions I saw did seem to get its location pretty well. I don't think there was ever a chance of our seeing it from here. Has anyone seen any reports of any meteorites from the event?

That trail's what was left in the atmosphere quite a while after the fireball. I'm sure it was much less twisty initially.

[Carole]

Maybe non-uniform atmospheric movements (i.e. different winds at different layers) have distorted a trail that was originally straight ...

That trail's what was left in the atmosphere quite a while after the fireball. I'm sure it was much less twisty initially.

Yes that all seems logical.

Carole

[Rick]

 Debris from an asteroid tracked as it fell to Earth has been recovered by scientists for the first time, says a report in the science journal Nature.

Nearly 50 fragments of the asteroid were collected from the desert in Sudan where it fell last October.

Scientists say the discovery offers a unique opportunity to study the asteroid's route and chemical make-up.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7964891.stm

[Rick]

An international alliance of astronomers are exceedingly chuffed to announce the first occasion of an asteroid being tracked from space, through impact with the Earth's atmosphere and thence to recovery of fragments on the ground.

"Any number of meteorites have been observed as fireballs and smoking meteor trails as they come through the atmosphere," says Douglas Rumble of the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory. "It's been happening for years. But to actually see this object before it gets to the Earth's atmosphere and then to follow it in – that's the unique thing."

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/26/2008_tc3_tracked_to_nubia/