Sighting of Meteor...

I

itsme_bernie

A Disturbance in the Force
Hey Everyone,
This may sound strange, but I saw a meteor(? or something big that broke up on entry) almost 4 months ago, and just remembered to try to report it!!!! I also just did the search today to find you guys.

I do remember precisely the date, and direction I was looking, and where I was.
I would like to submit this properly here, I just have read a few of the posts for Newbies, and couldn't find specifics...

It was August 3rd, 2008, 9:40pm I was in Fairfield, New Jersey, and was looking SSW along (and slightly South of) Passaic Ave, near Essex County Airport.

It appeared to be shooting straight across my field of view, which would make it shooting approximately WNW. It was at approximately 20 degrees from the ground (as if using a sextent), and was falling down across my field only around 5 degrees (from left down to right).

It broke up at the place I described above. I broke into many pieces, meaning approximately 15 or more substantial pieces that were clearly visible, all "burning in" for a few more seconds after it broke up.

The consensus in the car was "Holy Crap!!!" from my passenger and one person in the back who had time to hear us making a fuss, and position themselves to bend down to see up into the windshield of the SUV we were driving to catch the end of the show.

Then it all disappeared.

I don't even know yet (as a new person here) how to look up old info to check and see who already posted this info, if anyone. But this part of NJ is highly populated. As apathetic as many NJians are, I would still be surprised if NOONE saw it, or bothered!

Thanks for any info or help you can give me to post this properly, identify, and help me find out what I saw!!!


Bernie
Scientifically minded Astronomy fan, but not even an amateur Astronomer!!
 
Re: New Folk here.. Brought by sighting of Meteor...

Ok... I'm seeing a lot of "views", but no reply's yet... I guess everything is OK?

Can I assume this is in the right place?

Did I describe the event with the correct language and syntax?

Thanks everyone


Bernie
 
Re: New Folk here.. Brought by sighting of Meteor...

Hi Bernie, yep the syntax and language looks great to me. I'm going to move the post to the section with the other fireball sights so we can keep them all tallied. Thanks for the input!
 
Thanks Anart!


Thanks for your patience... I do respect doing my homework when I am new someplace, but I couldn't find this one!! I'm gonna look around here now!!

Thanks for Moderating too (moderators don't get thanked for their time and efforts enough I think)


Bernie
 
Ha HAAAAAA!!!!

Article in the ASBURY PARK PRESS Regarding my fireball!!!




http://fireballs-meteorites.blogspot.com/2008/08/august-2008.html


New Jersey, US: "Blue, sparking orb" was likely a meteor

Ed Johnson
Asbury Park Press
Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:48 EDT

What witnesses described as a "blue, sparking orb" prompted several calls to police in Wall and Howell before it apparently broke apart and disappeared late Sunday night, police said.

Whatever it was, it was visible for at least 35 miles and prompted a police notification to McGuire Air Force Base.

Bob Hampton of Ocean Township said he was driving on the New Jersey Turnpike near Kearny when he saw the blue-white object streak across the sky traveling from east to west. He spotted it about the same time some Howell residents thought it settled in the woods near Fort Plains Road.

"It was the brightest thing I remember seeing in the night sky," Hampton said. "It just seemed like it threw a lot of sparks, and then I thought it just broke up."

Now, if this seems like the beginning of some B-grade sci-fi movie, forget it.

Experts suspect the fiery visitor was not of this Earth, but added it was probably not the vanguard of an alien invasion either.

It was most likely a meteor, hitting the Earth's atmosphere at about 20,000 mph, said Louis J. Kijewski, a physicist at Monmouth University, whose academic credentials include teaching astronomy. Probably just a big meteor that had a dramatic burnout, he said.

That would check with the observations of witnesses like Hampton and the people who called police to report the event.

Howell police sent a patrol officer to check the area around Fort Plains Road, after several callers said they believed the sparking ball had set down, police Capt. Steven Dreher said.

"We didn't find anything, but we did get several calls," Dreher said.

According to the American Meteor Society, a group that observes and charts meteor activity, August is a month that is characterized by frequent meteor activity, most notably the Perseid meteor showers that streak the night skies in early August.

In addition, the clear skies on Sunday also enhanced visibility, the National Weather Service said.

So, the sparking intruder was probably nothing more than a meteor burning up in our atmosphere or maybe some space junk meeting a similar fate, Kijewski said.
 
itsme_bernie said:
Ha HAAAAAA!!!!
Article in the ASBURY PARK PRESS Regarding my fireball!!!
http://fireballs-meteorites.blogspot.com/2008/08/august-2008.html
Click to expand...

Thank you for posting that follow-up, bernie. When you posted your original message, I spend a great deal of time trying to find some other reference to your event on the internet, but to no avail. That's why I didn't post a response -- I had nothing useful to offer. Glad to see you got to the bottom of it.

Welcome to the forum, by the way.

:)
 
Thanks Pepper!

I just wanted to make sure (being the New Folk) I was following procedure properly... I'm gonna keep looking!

It's funny, but looking up "fireball" instead of "meteor" was a much more successful endeavor for me.
I'm still looking for more..
 
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