FIREBALL EXPLODES, SPRAYS COUNTRYSIDE: Not every meteor is a Perseid. On Saturday night, August 2nd, NASA meteor cameras detected a fireball that exploded in a flash of light many times brighter than the Moon. It came not from the Perseid debris stream, but rather from the vicinity of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Watch the movie, then read on for more information. The meteoroid was about 15 inches in diameter and weighed close to 100 lbs, says Bill Cooke of NASAs Meteoroid Environment Office. Travelling 47,000 miles per hour, it broke apart in a brilliant flash of light above the Alabama town of Henagar. Our cameras continued to track a large fragment until it disappeared 18 miles above Gaylesville, located near Lake Weiss close to the Georgia state line. At last sight, the fragment was still traveling at 11,000 miles per hour. Based on the meteors speed, final altitude, and weak doppler radar signatures, we believe that this fireball produced small meteorites on the ground somewhere between Borden Springs, AL and Lake Weiss.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 03:50:22 +0000
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