I think I just saw Near Earth Objects?????

[TKstickman]

<span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">Greetings,</span> <p style="margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-right:0in" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">My name is terry and I live in Fremont Ohio USA. Fremont is located in the North West area of Ohio aprox 20 miles south of Lake Erie. I was outside at about 9:15 pm Eastern Time US/Canada today March 28th. I observed a very bright object slightly north of my position at what appeared to be a high Altitude traveling in a North West direction. This was brighter than any other&nbsp;current visible object. I watched for two or three minutes as it passed and crossed the sky. Before it disappeared to the North West another object slightly less bright or possibly higher came into view on what appeared to be the same heading and passed to the North West as well. The objects had no flashing lights as would an aircraft and appeared just as bright approaching as leaving.</span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-right:0in" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">Any thoughts&nbsp;on this?</span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-right:0in" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">Cheers,</span></p><p style="margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-right:0in" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">Terry King</span></p>

 

[qso1]

I'm thinking satellite since you mentioned one disappeared which would indicate it may have passed into Earths shadow. Being your sighting was at 9:15 P.M. the satellite (If thats what it was) reflected sunlight which indicates it may have been higher than low orbit satellites. For a NEO to do this, it would have to be pretty low relativelly speaking to pass into Earths shadow. Thats my thought anyway. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[TKstickman]

<p style="margin:0in0in0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Yes I thought about a satellite and that is certainly possible. Seeing another following on or near the same path moments later is also possible. I have saw what may have been satellites in the past but not as bright as this. As an additional note there was clouds on the far northeastern horizon so I could not see the full exit path. As another note a year or so ago while stargazing with binoculars I watched as a very bright object passed west to east low on the north horizon and a few days later read an article about someone from an England observatory seeing I believe a near earth asteroid after it passed and was moving away. That one as I observed went straight out and disappeared and did not drop to the horizon. This time because of the far off clouds I couldn&rsquo;t tell.</font></p><p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I'm thinking satellite since you mentioned one disappeared which would indicate it may have passed into Earths shadow. Being your sighting was at 9:15 P.M. the satellite (If thats what it was) reflected sunlight which indicates it may have been higher than low orbit satellites. For a NEO to do this, it would have to be pretty low relativelly speaking to pass into Earths shadow. Thats my thought anyway. <br />Posted by qso1</DIV><br /></p>

 

[qso1]

<p>Iridium satellites and ISS are particularly bright but ISS is probably not high enough to be seen so late after sunset. A NEO at your latitude and the direction the satellite went would have to be pretty close to Earth to pass into its shadow.</p><p>About how long did the sighting last?</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[TKstickman]

<p>I did not time it but it seemed like more than a minute but well less than three and that would account for both objects.</p><p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Iridium satellites and ISS are particularly bright but ISS is probably not high enough to be seen so late after sunset. A NEO at your latitude and the direction the satellite went would have to be pretty close to Earth to pass into its shadow.About how long did the sighting last? <br />Posted by qso1</DIV><br /></p>

 

[qso1]

<p>That sounds consistent with satellite passage. A NEO within say 100,000 miles would barely appear to be moving. A NEO close enought to be moving across the sky in minutes would be passing at roughly the same altitude or higher depending on passing speed and if NEOs are passing that close, I'd like to think we'd hear about them from the astronomical community.</p><p>Maybe we will hear something tomorrow.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[eburacum45]

<p>Near Earth asteroids which can be seen with the naked eye are quite rare events. The next one is expected in 2029; so I doubt that you saw one recently. </p><p>&nbsp;http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/02/07/asteroid.flyby/index.html</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>---------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>http://orionsarm.com  http://thestarlark.blogspot.com/</p> </div>

 

[astronomer92]

<p>well my name is atronomer92 i saw the exact 2 objects you described and appeard to be asteroid like objects because as soon as i saw d 2 objects each one just look like a shooting star but a few seconds later the first one was engulfed in flames and began to incinerate in the atmosphere and bits of it started to fall towards the earth and the second one happend in&nbsp;the exact same way in know this for certain that these were asteroids....here is my email address if you want to talk to me about it more "steve_redzer54@hotmail.com".....</p>

 

[astronomer92]

<p>i</p><p>&nbsp;know for sure i saw 2 of these objects what other explanation is there ...??? the approx time was 10:25 and the first object incinerated as soon as it hit the atmosphere but the second didnt im not sure why but i think it only past earth but was close enough for cumbustion to occur and that is how i saw it and got dimmer and dimmer the further away it went .... at one stage it was right above me and i could see the tail&nbsp;of flames coming out at the back of it......</p>

 

[MeteorWayne]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Greetings, My name is terry and I live in Fremont Ohio USA. Fremont is located in the North West area of Ohio aprox 20 miles south of Lake Erie. I was outside at about 9:15 pm Eastern Time US/Canada today March 28th. I observed a very bright object slightly north of my position at what appeared to be a high Altitude traveling in a North West direction. This was brighter than any other&nbsp;current visible object. I watched for two or three minutes as it passed and crossed the sky. Before it disappeared to the North West another object slightly less bright or possibly higher came into view on what appeared to be the same heading and passed to the North West as well. The objects had no flashing lights as would an aircraft and appeared just as bright approaching as leaving.Any thoughts&nbsp;on this?Cheers,Terry King <br />Posted by TKstickman</DIV></p><p><br />What you saw was the ISS, followed by the Jules Verne ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle)</p><p>I watched that exact same pass (though lower on the horizon) here in NW NJ, about 2 or 3 minutes later.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Here is a Heaven's=Above home page set to your location.</p><p>http://heavens-above.com/?Loc=Fremont&Lat=41.350&Lng=-83.122&Alt=185&TZ=EST</p><p>Click on it, then bookmark the page. Here you can look for upcoming (and recent) visible satellite passes for your location. If you click in the ISS (or ATV) link, you can see you have quite a few coming up in the evening for the next wee, though most are much lower in the sky.</p><p>Tomorrow night's is the highest (hence easiest to see) hope the weather cooperates. By tomorrow the ATV should be closer to the ISS.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Oh BTW, once you click on the ISS page to see upcoming ones, if you click on the blue "Prev" on the upper right it will show you last night's pass.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Wayne</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>i&nbsp;know for sure i saw 2 of these objects what other explanation is there ...??? the approx time was 10:25 and the first object incinerated as soon as it hit the atmosphere but the second didnt im not sure why but i think it only past earth but was close enough for cumbustion to occur and that is how i saw it and got dimmer and dimmer the further away it went .... at one stage it was right above me and i could see the tail&nbsp;of flames coming out at the back of it...... <br />Posted by astronomer92</DIV></p><p><br />Astronomer 92:</p><p>Go to http://heavens-above.com/&nbsp;and set you location, then follo0w the advice I gave to the other poster.</p><p>The ATV is going to dock with the ISS next Thursday, so will be quite close. The nexly expanded ISS is the brightest object in the sky except for</p><p>The Sun</p><p>THe Moon</p><p>Occasional Iridium Flares</p><p>Venus (although if things are just right, it could be almost as bright or brighter then Venus). Venus is currently too close to the sun to be seen right now. The brightest current planet is Jupiter at magnitude -2.2, it is currently getting brighter (to -2.4 by the end of April) but doesn't rise until the early morning hours.</p><p>The brightest star , which is visible in the evening, is Sirius, just below the grand constellation Orion.</p><p>The ISS can be much brighter than that. It won't be for all pases, but for high elevation ones, it probably will be.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Wayne<br /></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[deapfreeze]

I was also out at this time 9:25pm I was looking north west from Chatham Ontario Canada and I also saw a very bright light that got dimmer the farther it got... I am not sure what it was? It was definately bright. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#0000ff"><em>William ( deapfreeze ) Hooper</em></font></p><p><font size="1">http://deapfreeze-amateur-astronomy.tk/</font></p><p> </p> </div>

 

[qso1]

<p><font color="#800080">i&nbsp;know for sure i saw 2 of these objects what other explanation is there ...??? the approx time was 10:25 and the first object incinerated as soon as it hit the atmosphere but the second didnt im not sure why but i think it only past earth...<br /> Posted by astronomer92</font></p><p>You saw what would normally be thought of as meteoroids. NEOs are generally much larger even if only around twenty feet in diameter or larger. Meteoroids could probably be tiny peices of an asteroid long since broken up but are generally referred to as meteors when they enter the atmosphere.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>i&nbsp;know for sure i saw 2 of these objects what other explanation is there ...??? the approx time was 10:25 and the first object incinerated as soon as it hit the atmosphere but the second didnt im not sure why but i think it only past earth... Posted by astronomer92You saw what would normally be thought of as meteoroids. NEOs are generally much larger even if only around twenty feet in diameter or larger. Meteoroids could probably be tiny peices of an asteroid long since broken up but are generally referred to as meteors when they enter the atmosphere.&nbsp; <br />Posted by qso1</DIV></p><p>It's most likely the first was a meteor, and the second a satellite.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[TKstickman]

<span style="font-size:9pt"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:8pt">Looks like MeteorWayne was right on the money. I checked the link and I&rsquo;ll buy into it being the ISS and ATV. <span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:'TimesNewRoman'">I&rsquo;ll have to find the binoculars and try to get a better look tomorrow as it passes.</span></span></font></span><span style="font-size:9pt"><font face="Times New Roman"></font></span> <p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>What you saw was the ISS, followed by the Jules Verne ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle)I watched that exact same pass (though lower on the horizon) here in NW NJ, about 2 or 3 minutes later.&nbsp;Here is a Heaven's=Above home page set to your location.http://heavens-above.com/?Loc=Fremont&Lat=41.350&Lng=-83.122&Alt=185&TZ=ESTClick on it, then bookmark the page. Here you can look for upcoming (and recent) visible satellite passes for your location. If you click in the ISS (or ATV) link, you can see you have quite a few coming up in the evening for the next wee, though most are much lower in the sky.Tomorrow night's is the highest (hence easiest to see) hope the weather cooperates. By tomorrow the ATV should be closer to the ISS.&nbsp;Oh BTW, once you click on the ISS page to see upcoming ones, if you click on the blue "Prev" on the upper right it will show you last night's pass.&nbsp;Wayne <br />Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV><br /></p>