Meteor Explodes Over Ohio

Source - Space Weather News for Sept. 28, 2013: http://spaceweather.com

OHIO FIREBALL: Last night, just before midnight on Sept. 27-28, sky watchers in more than a dozen US states witnessed a bright flash of light. NASA all-sky cameras recorded a brilliant fireball, which analysts believe was a meter-class space rock exploding almost directly above Columbus, Ohio.  Images and more information about this event may be found on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

COMET ISON APPROACHES MARS: Comet ISON is about to have a close encounter with Mars, giving Red Planet rovers and satellites a close-up view of the sungrazing comet. Amateur astronomers can watch the encounter as it plays out in the predawn sky between now and October 2nd.  Check http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and observing tips.

NASA Tracks Chelyabinsk Meteor Plume

Source - NASA Science News for August 16, 2013

New research shows that an asteroid exploding over Russia earlier this year created a belt of 'meteor dust' that circulated through the stratosphere for at least three months.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/15aug_russianmeteorplume/

Bright Explosion on the Moon

Source - NASA Science News for May 17, 2013

NASA researchers who monitor the Moon for meteoroid impacts have detected an explosion ten times brighter than anything they've seen before.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/16may_lunarimpact/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYloGuUZCFM



License: Standard YouTube License

Meteor Explodes in Daytime Skies over Russia

Source - Space Weather News for Feb. 15, 2013: http://spaceweather.com

RUSSIAN METEOR EXPLOSION: Today, Feb. 15th, a meteor exploded in the daytime skies of Chelyabinsk, Russian.  Shock waves from the blast shattered windows in many buildings and sent onlookers to the hospital with wounds from flying glass.  The meteoroid entered the atmosphere just as asteroid 2012 DA14 was approaching Earth for a record-setting close approach later in the day.  However, NASA says there is no connection between the two: the Russian meteor and 2012 DA14 have different trajectories. A cosmic coincidence?  Visit http://spaceweather.com more information and updates.

Taurid Meteor Shower

Source - Space Weather News for Nov. 11, 2012: http://spaceweather.com

TAURID METEOR SHOWER: Earth is passing through a stream of gravelly debris from Comet Encke, source of the annual Taurid meteor shower. Because the debris stream is not very congested, Taurid meteor rates are low, no more than 5 per hour. The special thing about Taurids is that they tend to be fireballs. Check http://spaceweather.com for the latest videos and images of the display, which is expected to peak around Nov. 12th.

Don't just watch meteors, wear them:  Authentic meteorite jewelry is available in the Space Weather Store:  http://www.shopspaceweather.com/ownameteorite.aspx

Orionid Meteor Shower

Source - Space Weather News for Oct. 20, 2012: http://spaceweather.com

ORIONID METEOR SHOWER: Today, Earth is passing through a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, source of the annual Orionid meteor shower. Forecasters expect ~25 meteors per hour when the shower peaks on Sunday, Oct. 21st. No matter where you live, the best time to look is during the dark hours before sunrise on Sunday morning. Observers in both hemispheres can see this shower.   Visit http://spaceweather.com for photos, more information, and live audio from a meteor radar.

Don't just watch meteors, wear them.  Authentic meteorite jewelry is available in the Space Weather Store:  http://www.shopspaceweather.com

Draconid Meteor Outburst Underway

Source - Space Weather News for Oct. 8, 2012: http://spaceweather.com

METEOR OUTBURST: Radars in Canada are reporting a major outburst of Draconid meteors commencing at 16 UT on Oct. 8th. "Radar rates are at 1000 meteors per hour," says Bill Cooke of NASA' Meteoroid Environment Office. "This is greater than last year's outburst, and 5x the 2005 level."

Cooke encourages northern sky watchers, especially in Europe where night is falling, to be alert for Draconid activity.  Because radars are sensitive to very small meteoroids, there is no guarantee that this radar outburst will translate into meteors visible to the human eye.  On the other hand, a brilliant display could be in progress.  The only way to know is to go outside and look.  Check http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

Don't just watch meteors, wear them.  Authentic meteorite jewelry is available in the Space Weather Store:  http://www.shopspaceweather.com

'Meteor Smoke' Linked to Noctilucent Clouds

Source - NASA Science News for August 8, 2012

A key ingredient of Earth's strangest clouds does not come from Earth. New data from NASA's AIM spacecraft shows that "meteor smoke" is essential to the formation of noctilucent clouds.

The full story can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/07aug_meteorsmoke/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzs9ZOsjF-c

Meteors from a Shattered Comet

Source - Space Weather News for Jan. 3, 2012: http://spaceweather.com

FIRST METEOR SHOWER OF 2012: The annual Quadrantid meteor shower peaks on Wednesday morning, Jan. 4th, when Earth passes through a narrow stream of debris from a comet thought to have broken apart some 500 years ago. The shower is expected to be strong (as many as 100 meteors per hour), but elusive, with a peak that lasts no longer than a couple of hours. The shower's radiant near Polaris favors observers in the northern hemisphere. Images, live audio from a meteor radar, and more information are available on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

Don't just watch meteors, wear them! Authentic meteorite jewelry is available in the Space Weather Store: http://www.shopspaceweather.com/ownameteorite.aspx

Orionid Meteor Shower - 2011

Source - Space Weather News for Oct. 21, 2011: http://spaceweather.com

WEEKEND METEOR SHOWER: Today Earth is entering a stream of debris from Halley's comet, source of the annual Orionid meteor shower. Forecasters expect the shower to peak on Saturday morning, Oct. 22nd, with more than 15 meteors per hour. Check http://spaceweather.com for links to a live meteor radar, sky maps and observing tips.

MASSIVE SATELLITE NEARS RE-ENTRY: The massive ROSAT X-ray space telescope is making its final spiralling orbits around Earth. Most experts agree that re-entry will occur during the early hours of Oct. 23rd over a still-unknown region of our planet. Sky watchers report that the descending satellite can be as bright as a first magnitude star and it occasionally "flares" to even greater intensity. For last-chance sightings of ROSAT in your area, please check SpaceWeather's online satellite tracker (http://spaceweather.com/flybys) or turn your smartphone into a ROSAT tracker: http://simpleflybys.com .

Draconid Meteor Shower

Source - Space Weather News for Oct. 7, 2011: http://spaceweather.com

DRACONID METEOR SHOWER: On Saturday, October 8th, Earth will pass through a network of dusty filaments shed by Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. Forecasters expect the encounter to produce anywhere from a few dozen to a thousand meteors per hour visible mainly over Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East. The meteors will stream from the northern constellation Draco--hence their name, the "Draconids." Check http://spaceweather.com for full coverage of the event including observing times and a live audio stream from a meteor radar.

Comet Fragment Disintegrates over North America

Source - Space Weather News for May 24, 2011: http://spaceweather.com

COMET FIREBALL: Bright fireballs appear somewhere on Earth every day. Most are caused by rocky asteroids. On Friday, May 20th, however, a less common object struck. Sky watchers in the southeastern USA watched a big but fragile piece of comet break apart in Earth's atmosphere. The resulting fireball was the brightest meteor observed in nearly 3 years by NASA's all-sky network of meteor cameras. Videos and more information are featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com

HOLD A METEORITE IN YOUR HAND: Certified authentic meteorites are now available in the Space Weather Store. Details at http://www.shopspaceweather.com/meteorite-sets.aspx

Spring is Fireball Season

Source - NASA Science News for March 31, 2011

For reasons researchers do not understand, the rate of midnight fireballs increases during the weeks around the vernal equinox. It's a beautiful display, but where do they come from? NASA's growing network of fireball cameras is scanning the heavens for answers.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/31mar_springfireballs/

SOMETHING NEW: The Science@NASA team is pleased to announce a new product: the ScienceCast. Every week, we produce a short video highlighting a topic in breaking science news. This week's episode is "The Superfluid Core of a Dead Star." See it on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ScienceAtNASA

Stunning Spiral Light Show over Norway

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 9, 2009: http://spaceweather.com

This morning in arctic Norway, onlookers were stunned when a gigantic luminous spiral formed in the northern sky. Veteran observers accustomed to the appearance of Northern Lights say they have never seen anything like it. It was neither a meteor nor any known form of atmospheric optics. Rumors that the spiral was caused by the botched launch of a Russian rocket have not yet been confirmed.

Visit http://spaceweather.com for images and eyewitness reports of this mysterious apparition.

Update: Click here to read an article from Universe Today about the Norway spiral, and be sure to check out the YouTube video below:

Great Fireball over the Western USA

Source - Space Weather News for Nov. 18, 2009: http://spaceweather.com

FIREBALLS AND METEORS: As forecasters predicted, the Leonid meteor shower peaked during the late hours of Nov. 17th, favoring sky watchers in Asia with an outburst of 100+ meteors per hour. Just as the outburst was dying down, an even bigger event took place over the western USA. Something hit Earth's atmosphere and exploded with an energy equivalent of 0.5 to 1 kiloton of TNT. Witnesses in Colorado, Utah, Idaho and elsewhere say the fireball "turned night into day" and "shook the ground" when it exploded just after midnight Mountain Standard Time. Researchers who are analyzing infrasound recordings of the blast say the fireball was not a Leonid. It was probably a small asteroid, now scattered in fragments across the countryside. Efforts are underway to measure the trajectory of the asteroid and guide meteorite recovery efforts.

Please visit http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

Perseid Meteor Outburst

Source - Space Weather News for Aug. 4, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

POSSIBLE PERSEID METEOR OUTBURST: This year's Perseid meteor shower could be even better than usual. According to NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, a filament of comet dust has drifted across Earth's path and when Earth passes through it, sometime between 0800 and 0900 UT (1 - 2 am PDT) on August 12th, the Perseid meteor rate could surge to twice its normal value. Check http://spaceweather.com for details and observing tips.

PERSEIDS ON YOUR iPHONE: Spaceweather.com is pleased to announce a new iPhone/iPod application dedicated to the upcoming Perseid meteor shower. It features a Perseid countdown clock, news alerts, an easy-to-use sky map, and a live gallery of photos from around the world. Sky watchers of all types will find it a valuable companion when the shower peaks later this month.

Learn more: http://spaceweather.com/perseids

Download the app: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=325305245&mt=8

Venus Disappears During Meteor Shower

Source - NASA Science News for April 17, 2009

A meteor shower. A crescent Moon. A disappearing planet. These three things will be on display next Wednesday, April 22nd, when the Moon occults Venus during the annual Lyrid meteor shower.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/17apr_lyrids.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml

First Meteor Shower of 2009

Source - Space Weather News for Jan. 2, 2009: http://spaceweather.com

FIRST METEORS OF 2009: The annual Quadrantid meteor shower peaks on Jan. 3rd when Earth enters a stream of debris from shattered comet 2003 EH1. The timing of the encounter favors observers in western North America and across the Pacific Ocean who could see dozens to hundreds of meteors during the dark hours before sunrise this Saturday morning. Visit http://spaceweather.com for a sky map and more information.

SOMETHING NEW: For the new year, Spaceweather.com is pleased to announce a new service: Space Weather Radio, broadcasting live "sounds from space" around the clock. Today you can listen to the Air Force Space Surveillance Radar in Texas. When a meteor passes over the facility--ping!--there is an audible echo. (Activity should be high during the Quadrantid meteor shower this weekend.) In the near future we'll be adding broadcasts of solar radio bursts and VLF signals from the ionosphere. The streams are punctuated by Daily Space Weather Updates from Dr. Tony Phillips. Click here to begin listening: http://SpaceweatherRadio.com

Meteor Explodes over Colorado

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 6, 2008: http://spaceweather.com

COLORADO FIREBALL: Last night, a fireball one hundred times brighter than the full Moon lit up the sky near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Astronomer Chris Peterson photographed the event using an all-sky video camera dedicated to meteor studies. "In seven years of operation, this is the brightest fireball I've ever recorded. I estimate the terminal explosion at magnitude -18." Meteors this bright are called superbolides; they are caused by small (meter-class) asteroids and are likely to pepper the ground with meteorites when they explode. Visit http://spaceweather.com to watch the fireball video and contribute sighting reports that could help pinpoint any meteoritic debris.

TUMBLING TOOLBAG: The space station's famous sidekick, the ISS Toolbag, is circling Earth and reportedly producing flashes of light bright enough to record using off-the-shelf digital cameras. The flashes, shown in a photo on today's edition of Spaceweather.com, could be a sign that the bag is tumbling. Both the Toolbag and the ISS will be making a series of evening passes over North America and Europe in the evenings ahead, so now is a good time to look. Check the Simple Satellite Tracker for viewing times: http://spaceweather.com/flybys

BONUS: The Dec. 1st Great Conjunction Photo Gallery continues to grow with daily additions from around the world. Start browsing here: http://spaceweather.com/conjunctions/gallery_01dec08.htm

Visit http://spaceweather.com for photos, webcasts and more information.

Return of the Leonids

Source - NASA Science News for December 4, 2008

Astronomers from Caltech and NASA are predicting a near-storm of Leonids in 2009 based on a surprising outburst of meteors just two weeks ago.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/04dec_leonids2009.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml!