What did I see last night (Aug 17, 2007 9:30 CST)

[luvgrn]

Last night some friends and I were in my back yard and saw a fire ball flying through the sky. You could see bits & pieces breaking off. There was major discussion with friends about what it was, how big, and close it was. Does anybody know anything about what we saw last night? I live in Northern MN if that helps.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Well it was likely a large meteor.<br />If it was slow moving and yellowish, the most likely is a member of the shower called the kappa Cygnids that were scheduled to peak last night (though I had a disappointing count during my 3 hours.<br />If it was fast and left a trail in the sky for a few seconds, the Perseids are the suspect shower. While rates have declined quite a mit from the peak Monday morning, there still are several per hour visible.<br />I also saw a number of bright sporadic (not associated with any particular shower during that time.<br /><br />They are glowing 40 to 60 miles up in the atmosphere (I know it looked closer) so that's how far away it was if overhead. About halfway up in the sky it's about 200 miles away.<br /><br />Meteor Wayne <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>

 

[Anonymous]

I think this will solve it all.<br />Take a look at these:<br />http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMDN12A6BD_sensations_0.html<br />http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/showers_andstars_000809.html <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font size="2"><p align="center"><br /><img id="a9529085-d63d-481e-9277-832ea5d58917" src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/9/2/a9529085-d63d-481e-9277-832ea5d58917.Large.gif" alt="blog post photo" /><br /><font color="#339966">Oops! this is my alien friend.</font></p><p align="center"><font color="#ff6600">╬→Ť╠╣є ’ M€ ’<br />╬→ Ðôŵņ2Ëãřŧĥ ๑<br />╬→ ЙДm€ :Varsha<br /></font></p></font></strong> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Actually those links don't address the question of which meteor shower it might have belonged to, which mine did. <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]

I get the impression you are new to watching the sky, so I didn't ask these questions at first, but if you can answer them, it might help ID the shower.<br />Can you tell me where in the sky (how high, what direction) was it moving?<br /><br />and/or<br /><br />Can you tell what constellation it started and ended in?<br /><br />With that info, I can be more specific about which shower it might have been from.<br /><br />Meteor Wayne <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>

 

[luvgrn]

It was moving pretty fast, from NW to SE. It looked blue in color. It wasn't straight up in the sky. It was low enough to pass behind the trees. It was between 10:00 & 11:00 PM CST. It also looked huge in size. It was so big that we could see four pieces break off. That is why I tried telling my friends that it was very far away. If it were close at all, we would have heard a sound when it passed by. Like a jet or something.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Well it could well have been a Perseid. since the radiant is only about 20 degrees over the Horizon at that time.<br />If so, it was between 300 and 400 miles away (plus 40 miles up in the atmosphere. <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>