The astronomer of the Municipal Observatory Jean Nicolini, in the District of Joaquim Egidio, Julio Lobo is in search of evidence that may explain the alleged fall of an object from the sky in the Park area Taquaral in Campinas, in the early hours of last Sunday (29) .
A couple reported seeing a bright kind of shooting star, falling toward the Technical School of Campinas (Etec), in the area of Avenida Padre Almeida Garret, when they went by car on Avenida Dr. Heitor Penteado, around 3:33 a.m.. From the description, the astronomer believes to be a fireball associated with a meteor shower that happens every year between late July and early August.
In the early afternoon of Monday (30), the astronomer was at the location indicated by the couple, but found no proof. "Coincidentally, we are in a period of a very active meteor shower that always happens this time of year," he said.
The meteor shower is the result of interaction between a planet like Earth, and the trail of debris produced by a comet or asteroid. "These debris are attracted by the earth, entering the atmosphere at a high speed. Usually, they are glowing. That's why we can see. Popularly, these meteors are called shooting stars, "he said.
The businessman Igor Okimoto, 32, was with his girlfriend, Danielle Moraes, 26, when he saw the object in the sky. "It had the format of a kind of comet. It was very close and very bright, with a white color. We thought at first that it was lightning, but it was not because it was moving down, as if falling. We looked for it, we were in several places to see if it had fallen somewhere, but we did not found it", he reported. The couple lives in Caraguatatuba. Okimoto has lived in Campinas and brought his girlfriend to know the city, and returned on Sunday.
The astronomer advises the couple themselves and other people who saw the bright object in the sky near the Lagoon Taquaral to send an email to him as a way to record the fact. If proven, Wolf inform the International Meteor Organization (IMO, in English) to the scientific record. This organization maintains a database containing scientific observations around the world from meteors in the Earth's atmosphere. This database is part of the Virtual Meteor Observatory (Virtual Meteor Observatory).
According to the astronomer, if it was falling as reported by the couple, the object could have fallen anywhere. "However, 99% disintegrate and saw dust," he pondered. Even with this hypothesis, the astronomer also asks people to, if by chance noticed some damage on the roof of the house, can also send reports.
The Etec reported that there was no damage of this nature in the school area. The astronomer explained that if the meteor had fallen somewhere it happens to be called a meteorite and has scientific value. "Meteorites have great scientific value because they are fossils of the solar system."
Explosion
Wolf recalled that in 90 years, he and other astronomers were watching the sky when something lit up the night and a sudden explosion occurred. "The night turned into day. Jupiter, which is the second brightest star, gone. And the intensity of the noise left us puzzled. It was a meteor that was falling in the south of Minas Gerais. Which means, that not always the fall will be near the place where it is seen. "
To provide information to the astronomer, the person must send an email to: campinasobservatorio@yahoo.com.br and also for the newspaper Correio do Povo, at the following addresses: guilherme.busch rac.com.br and glaucia.santinello @ @ rac.com.br.
