Hi People, hope you are all having a good Bank Holiday.
Did anyone spot a FANTASTIC fireball at 03:04 GMT this morning?
Details:
I was driving home from 'work', was a mile outside Kinnegad going to
Clonard on the N4, when looking right at Mars, a fireball of
brilliant white and orange tore through the atmosphere, in a 4:30
(o'clock) kind of direction, directly South-west of Mars, making it
look like Mars was the radiant! It left a smokey ion trail for about
3-4 seconds. I estimate it left the trail about 35-45 degrees long,
and about 4 Mars' wide. It was very fast, didn't break up, and was
bright enough that I swore it left a shadow on the ground, as I was
in a pitch black place driving on my own. I don't think I could gauge
a proper magnitude of the fireball at its brightest point, but the
first thing that came into my head when I saw it was a bright
firework seen from across a field. So I guess perhaps Magnitude -11??
I saw 2 meteors after that at about Mag +2 when I pulled over. And
also 4 Perseids inside 2 minutes observing.
My first fireball, and it happened exactly as I looked right at it...
amazing!
Seanie.
Midlands Astronomy Club.
Radio Presenter (Midlands 103), Space Enthusiast, Astronomy Outreach Co-ordinator.
Former IFAS Chairperson and Secretary.
  