Asteroid lights up sky above English Channel

[Rick]

Asteroid lights up sky above English Channel

A small asteroid has entered the Earth's atmosphere and was seen lighting up the sky above the English Channel, creating a stunning shooting star effect.

The 1m (3ft) meteoroid - or small asteroid - was seen shortly before 03:00 GMT on Monday morning.

Social media users, some based in the south of England, shared footage of the rock which has been dubbed Sar2667.

It is just the seventh time an asteroid impact has been predicted in advance.

More: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64621721

[Rick]

Asteroid lights up sky over Channel creating shooting star effect

An asteroid has lit up the sky over the Channel in the early morning after scientists accurately predicted its strike – only the seventh time that has happened.

The European Space Agency said on Sunday night that the 1-metre-sized object would enter Earth's atmosphere and strike the surface around the French city of Rouen.

More: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/feb/13/asteroid-lights-up-sky-over-channel-as-scientists-predict-strike

[Rick]

Meteorite from SAR2667 Found in France!

On 13th February at 02:59, a small asteroid, SAR2667, also known as 2023 CX1, entered the Earth's atmosphere over the English Channel heading towards France. The spectacular fireball was captured on many cameras allowing trajectory analysis to be performed.

Now, a search team from FRIPON/Vigie Ciel have found a meteorite on the ground! The discovery was reported on 15th February. About 100 grammes of material has so far been recovered.

More: https://www.popastro.com/main_spa1/meteor/2023/02/15/meteorite-from-sars2667-found-in-france/

[Rick]

Fragments of 'Valentine's fireball' meteorite fall in southern Italy

Residents of southern Italy's picturesque and ancient "city of stone" have been gripped by another rocky phenomenon after a meteorite crash-landed on the balcony of a home in Matera's suburbs.

The space object, which had been travelling at about 200mph, was spotted in the skies above the Puglia and Basilicata regions on 14 February, becoming known as "Valentine's fireball", before falling on to the balcony of the home of brothers Gianfranco and Pino Losignore and their parents.

Not that they realised at first: the two were carrying out checks on the property's solar panels when, three days later, they noticed a damaged panel and tile, along with grey fragments scattered across the balcony.

More: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/feb/19/fragments-of-valentines-fireball-meteorite-fall-in-southern-italy

[Rick]

The meteorite of Saint Valentine

A description is given of the recent meteorite dropping fireball on 2023 February 14, 17h58m UTC and the recovery of the meteorites on 18 February.

More: https://www.meteornews.net/2023/02/19/the-meteorite-of-saint-valentine/

[Rick]

3 nights in a row, 3 fireballs, 3 meteorites...

For astronomers who did not know how to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tcheliabinsk event, sky deserves the best celebration we could even imagine! From February 13th, to 15th, 3 meteorite-dropper fireballs occured over France, Italy and Texas... and meteorites were recovered! Let's celebrate!

More: https://www.imo.net/3-fireballs-3-meteorites-in-a-row/

[Hugh]

Thanks for the update Rick ~ that has to be a first!

~ Hugh

[Rick]

NASA confirms 1,000lb meteorite slammed into Texas

A meteorite measuring two-feet-wide hurtled towards Earth at 27,000 miles per hour with an energy equivalent to eight tons of TNT and exploded into pieces over McAllen, Texas.

The National Weather Service said the Geostationary Lightning Mapper instrument aboard one of its satellites detected a bright flash at around 17��23 CST (2323 UTC) on 15 February over Southern Texas. Residents nearby reported hearing a loud boom that rattled their windows in the early evening.

NASA confirmed that the object was a hefty fireball streaking through the sky, it was estimated to weigh 1,000 pounds (~454 kilograms). The space rock fragmented into smaller chunks at an altitude of 21 miles due to the effect of slamming through Earth's atmosphere.

More: https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/22/texas_meteorite_nasa/

(Oh dear... They couldn't resist the "slammed" tag... -- Rick )

[Hugh]

WoW ~ that's a biggy!

~ Hugh