no telescope but wow

[pandora]

Hi I just joined because I had to tell someone about what I saw tonight. I was driving home to Hervey Bay (Qld) from Maryborough and I saw what must've been a rather large meteorite enter the atmosphere. I dunno if this is big news or really kool for anyone else, but anyway...It was about 12:25 Qld time; there was a bright flash of white light, long enough for me to be worried about what it was (it seemed to be above me, I saw the edge at the top of my windscreen), then I heard like a distant boom; from that white light it flew across the sky...I've seen plenty of "shooting stars", this is what it looked like but about 15 times the size (no exagerration). This ball of orange went across the sky (but much bigger and further) and I could see little bits of white coming off it...Anyway, I've never seen anything like it. Did anyone else see it? Perchance someone fluked a video shot?

[glenc (Glen)]

Welcome to IIS.
Was USA 193 passing over?
It is the US spy satellite that they shot at.
http://www.heavens-above.com/orbitdi...sp?satid=29651
What direction was it heading?

[iceman (Mike)]

Hi and to IIS!
It sounds like you saw a fireball/bolide for sure.

[pandora]

The satellite bits were not meant to pass over this area; they were supposed to go over Adelaide and Darwin, so unless a bit somehow managed to get about 2000km off course, that's not what it was.
What's a bolite? Sorry for being such a noob...I'm very interested to find out more. Is this common? I've never seen anything like it so...

[programmer]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteoroid

That's the link I got when I googled 'bolide'.

I'm also guessing you saw a fireball. Slower moving, bigger, more colourful than your normal 'shooting star'. Very Hollywood! I didn't hear a boom with the few I've seen though.

[omnivorr]

...the "boom" kinda makes it sound like it was close-ish... sofar no air-transport tragedies reported on local ABC news-site, ..nor anythin else..
(yet)
...you might be the only lucky one to've seen/heard it? ..mebe a few days til word gets out someone found a new "dam" on their poperty o'nite

[Moonboy (Gus)]

I was out at a party a couple of weeks ago and I saw something like that.
It didn't go Boom and it was white.
I wonder what it was?
Aliens???

[caleb]

i didnt think soudnw ould be possible to hear.
anyway.. how do i find when some sattleites will be burning up and where is some information on this.

[citivolus (Ric)]

There were many, many pieces of debris from USA 193. They were very divergent on their trajectories, to the point that this far along after the event they can be in just about any place around the planet at any time. I think there are still 30-40 large-ish pieces in orbit. In other words, it would be difficult to rule out that any given object that you see visually was not a piece of its debris. That said, you are probably still more likely to see a regular meteor entry than satellite debris.

[Astro78]

How cool is seeing a fireball Pandora!!!

I saw my 3rd one about a week ago

check youtube for "fireball" - very cool

[programmer]

They are awesome. I saw 2 in one night some weeks back, and my observing buddy missed them both! I didn't expect them to be so colourful with great long tails, and to last so long in the sky.

[Blue Skies (Jacquie)]

Originally Posted by caleb

i didnt think sound would be possible to hear.
anyway..

If the bolide was big enough, as this one was that was seen in Qld, they can create a sonic boom as they come in. I have heard one over Perth which rattled the windows at home (I was inside watching tv at the time). Bolides that big aren't common but several are seen around the world each year - although you have to wonder what we miss seeing if they have come in over the oceans.

[leinad (Dan)]

I vividly saw one with my friend out the front of my house in Perth must have been ~2years ago now?
It was huge! My estimates thought at least 4-5 buses large.
It had a loud crackling tail, sparks flying of the rear. In honesty it scared the @#$^ out of us.
I thought it was gonna hit Perth city as it looked low at on a tight angled descent.
I can vividly remember the loud crackling fiery sparking tail. I'll remember that for the rest of my life.

This was it; top video in link below:
http://fireball.meteorite.free.fr/index_en.html

[Meadehead]

My daughter and I were in the back yard some months back when we saw our fitst fireball, I was looking into my telescope at the time and it passed so close I lost my night vision in my observing eye, it lit up the whole sky. It was spectacular

[leon]

You lucky buggers, I have only seen one in all my years in Astronomy, but not anywhere as large as you guys have seen.

Leon