Meteor Explosion over South Africa

[Dracius]

Hey guys. I've been a follower of Space.com for years. And yea, It's my first post too.

Hope you'll all find this interesting! Some really nice footage. I'll update this thread if I find additional videos.

"Earlier, the Johannesburg Planetarium had requested footage captured by members of the public of a meteor that sped over Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Botswana on Saturday.

"The planetarium and the impact cratering research group at Wits University would be very keen to obtain copies of any video recordings of the meteor seen burning up over South Africa," astronomer Claire Flanagan said on Monday."

IOL Link: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=iol1259134089481M361

Youtube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af6rCf0xw8M&

 

[MeteorWayne]

I think I'm going to move this to Space Science and Astronomy; it's better suited there. Welcom to Space.com!

Wayne

 

[Dracius]

Thanks for the welcome!

Yea, I wasn't sure about the section. Thanks for moving it!

 

[MeteorWayne]

No problem We aim to please (and burn up in the atmosphere )

 

[Wellington1114]

Part of the Leonid Shower?

Hey guys. Im looking for some insight on this video that I saw on a website, it was a link from aol news. It's suppose to be part of the leonid meteor shower, my only problem is that it seems a bit big to be dust and debris, and then it appears to explode. Although it does still have the greenish color of the MS.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UOcRCSx ... r_embedded

 

[MeteorWayne]

Re: Part of the Leonid Shower?

Without knowing where Midrand is located, what time the image was taken, and wht direction the camera was facing, there's absolutely no way at all to tell.

 

[Wellington1114]

Re: Part of the Leonid Shower?

I couldn't find any information on the origin of it just that it was taken in Carolina.

I was just wondering if they could appear that big and then give the illusion of an explosion. If they can then I really regret not going out at 4am to watch.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Re: Part of the Leonid Shower?

Oh, it's in Carolina USA? That's useful. But without the time (other than the fact it was dark out) and the direction of the camera, anything else would be pure speculation.

 

[Wellington1114]

Re: Part of the Leonid Shower?

Im gonna need to correct myself. Actually it was taken in South Africa, from an office building security cam.

I got 2 vids mixed up. Sorry about that.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Re: Part of the Leonid Shower?

That makes it even more unlikely that it was a Leonid; of course that depend on the other 2 essential bits of information.

Thanx for correcting that.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Re: Part of the Leonid Shower?

Since this seems to be the same event as one under discussion in SS&A, I am going to merge this thread with that topic.

 

[Wellington1114]

Re: Part of the Leonid Shower?

Yea that's what I've been thinking. Although I did find another video that showed almost the exact same thing, just not as massive and 3 days earlier. Which was November 18th, taken from a camera mounted on a police car in Grand Junction, Colorado at about 12 am.

http://www.urlesque.com/2009/11/24/mete ... ower-video

 

[Wellington1114]

Re: Part of the Leonid Shower?

Ok. Thats the best place for it, I posted it here because im most familiar with this section.

Thanks

 

[Wellington1114]

I'm pretty sure it isn't a Leonid. You can see the fire emiting off the back of the object.

 

[MeteorWayne]

That's not necessarily relevant. A baseball sized Leonid could produce that kind of event due to it's extreme velocity.

As I said (now several times), without knowing what time the image was taken, and what direction the camera was facing, IT'S PURE SPECULATION!

 

[ZenGalacticore]

Very cool! I by pure chance happened to see one similar to that one time. It was at a party. We were on the veranda about 2:30 am. Although it was a bright greenish/white, and it didn't impact close enough for the light energy from the impact to be seen on the horizon like the one you posted, it was still cool.

And it lit up everybody's faces on the veranda. It was the biggest one I've ever by chance happened to see. Very fleetiing moment!

 

[JoaoTimorLeste]

Hi all,
All I wanted to know was whether there could be a link of any kind (besides the fact that they occurred ) between the meteor that exploded over South Africa (part of the Leonid shower???) , and the "Meteo-Tsunamis " in the north of Tasmania (Australia). Sorry if this has already been explained, but the media doesn't seem to answer that.
They occurred at around the same time.

 

[MeteorWayne]

There is insufficient information to determine if the South African fireball had anything to do with the Leonids.

I have not heard of the "Meteo Tsunamis" north of Tasmania. Can you provide a link to a story? A google search turned nothing up for me.

 

[jgrtmp]

Normal view of the video would place the object about 60 miles out. Was the cameara elevated from the base plane in the for ground? If so use your algebra for the height of the platform & a base line that appreared to be somewaht flat & it will give you an outbound distance to start your search by.

 

[masha08]

That's amazing. I can't help being in awe when I think about how scientists actually determine such data. Also it makes you realize how magical the world we live in is.


/*Link Removed*/