Althouse: Video — from the UW Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences rooftop — of a bright meteor at 11:50 PM CST Monday night.

December 20, 2017

Video — from the UW Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences rooftop — of a bright meteor at 11:50 PM CST Monday night.

This is a view looking up University Avenue toward the state capitol:

23 comments:

Original Mike said...: Yeah, that's a pretty good one. Late for a Geminid, but ii is coming from the right direction.; 12/20/17, 10:07 AM
Wince said...: Unfortunately, you can't find at least three "wise men" among the entire UW faculty.

And if you did it'd be misogynistic.; 12/20/17, 10:08 AM
Curious George said...: God missed.; 12/20/17, 10:08 AM
Nonapod said...: Apparently the Earth accumulates about 60 tons of cosmic debris every day. If that's true though, it means the Earth has gotten bigger over the past 4.5 billion years. I mean, I assume that very explosive volcanoes may occasionally eject a small amounts of material out of the Earth's atmosphere, but the overall net amount wouldn't offset the gain I imagine.; 12/20/17, 10:09 AM
Original Mike said...: "Unfortunately, you can't find at least three "wise men" among the entire UW faculty."

Not since I retired.; 12/20/17, 10:10 AM
Jaq said...: I just saw a really cool one last night too, over Florida. It broke in half before the two pieces faded out. In Miami last year, I saw one that was very bright, and must have contained copper, because it glowed green.; 12/20/17, 10:19 AM
Jaq said...: The one I saw was at about the same time, BTW.; 12/20/17, 10:20 AM
Original Mike said...: "and must have contained copper, because it glowed green."

You get different colors based on the excitation of atmospheric components.. Green is very common for meteors. I've seen it a lot (though it takes a bright meteor.); 12/20/17, 10:26 AM
rhhardin said...: It's caused by accumulations of gasses in the upper atmosphere.; 12/20/17, 10:50 AM
Robert J. said...: It's been designated Event 5311-2017, with 60 reports thus far from six states. The object was apparently over Lake Michigan, moving north offshore from Milwaukee.

https://www.amsmeteors.org/members/imo_view/event/2017/5311; 12/20/17, 10:59 AM
Jaq said...: Green is very common for meteors. I’ve seen it a lot (though it takes a bright meteor.)

Bright enough to attract all of our attention over the well-lit Miami skyline. It was probably up there tops with any I have seen. My coolest one though was on a rainy night, when it came down through the clouds and fog. It looked like an extremely bright blue-white street light had been thrown through the sky.; 12/20/17, 11:09 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: I saw it as it happened.; 12/20/17, 12:20 PM
traditionalguy said...: Hmm. A Space War battle also results in the splashing of many enemy satellites.; 12/20/17, 12:59 PM
LYNNDH said...: That was no meteor, it was Aliens it tell you. ALIENS!
Either that or the exploding heads of Democrats' over the Tax Bill passage.; 12/20/17, 1:01 PM
David said...: A little hint about human mortality.; 12/20/17, 1:50 PM
Owen said...: At what altitude would it have flared and then (presumably) exploded into little bits? What was its mass? Do we want to worry about these fellows hitting the ground, causing sonic booms, etc?; 12/20/17, 2:36 PM
eddie willers said...: I was standing on my back porch in NE Georgia at dusk when I saw the most magnificent green bolide I had ever seen going northward.

Being pre-Internet, I kept checking the paper until I saw an article about a meteorite hitting a car.

Today it is known as the Peekskill meteorite. The car is going to Paris .; 12/20/17, 2:40 PM
The Drill SGT said...: Nonapod said...
Apparently the Earth accumulates about 60 tons of cosmic debris every day.

On the other hand, we are leaking gasses at the same time.; 12/20/17, 2:50 PM
MadisonMan said...: Either that or the exploding heads of Democrats' over the Tax Bill passage

The tax bill passed overnight today. The meteor occurred 2 nights ago.; 12/20/17, 3:00 PM
Kyzer SoSay said...: Wifey and I saw a bright green meteor last October over Columbus Day weekend while driving south along Rt.42 in Door County, WI. It was magnificent. Appeared to be heading south over Green Bay, and we were lucky to see it given how many trees were potentially in the way.; 12/20/17, 3:12 PM
Quaestor said...: Apparently, the Earth accumulates about 60 tons of cosmic debris every day. If that's true though, it means the Earth has gotten bigger over the past 4.5 billion years.

Helium as a nuclear decay product is leeching up through the crust constantly (too bad for balloons and airship dreams). And many chemical reactions release Hydrogen, so that's being constantly lost to space as well, thus the accumulation of meteorite material gets offset to some degree.; 12/20/17, 5:15 PM
Quaestor said...: The Moon is probably growing faster than Earth. Good thing it's receding else things could get nasty eventually.; 12/20/17, 5:18 PM
wholelottasplainin said...: rhhardin said...
It's caused by accumulations of gasses in the upper atmosphere.

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Is joke, right?; 12/20/17, 5:28 PM