Major Fireball Predicted for Africa

[Greg Bryant]

An asteroid only a few metres in diameter, discovered just yesterday, is predicted to hit Earth's atmosphere later today over northern Africa (where it will be night).

While rocks this size hit the Earth's atmosphere every couple of months, this is the first instance of one being detected before it hits.

More details here:

http://www.astmag.com.au/News_20081007_Fireball.htm

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Exciting!!


That is unless you live underneath the predicted entry area.

[gaa_ian (Ian)]

Lets hope that there is someone on location to film it !
Reports are that it will be visible across eastern Africa, so there should be a good chance of it being filmed.
It would be great to be able to track the brightening object and watch its evolution into a fireball !
This should be possible I would have thought.
You can bet there will be some good U-Tube Videos in the next few hours.
I am certrainly watching with interest
http://www.askthescienceguru.com/?p=103

[glenc (Glen)]

The ABC has this story: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...08/2385111.htm

[gaa_ian (Ian)]

It is amazing that there are no eyewitness accounts (apart from the KLM airliner 750km away)
You would have expected that many people on the ground would have seen it.
Might take some time to get to them to get the stories & just maybe a photo !

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Spaceweather has an update - the fireball was seen from one aircraft.

http://www.spaceweather.com/

[bojan]

I am not surprised at all that almost noone saw it.
People over there have totally different interests and problems... (war, how to survive and avoid being killed, what to eat etc).
Besides, there is no internet nor radio there... and to notice something like that you have to be prepared... and even if someone saw it, how many recognized it as fireball / bolid?
Not many.....

[Jen]

Cool if only it came over our way