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Meteor Streaks Over American East Coast

Posted by timothy on from the missed-the-memo-re-flyover-country dept.

California doesn't get all the action; The Washington Post is one of many news outlets reporting that the east coast of North America got a good view of a meteor, with more than 300 sightings from Canada to Florida. Did you see it? If so, did you have your dashcam on? Update: 03/23 13:43 GMT by T : The meteor was captured at least by some security cameras, as reported by The Guardian.

66 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. me thinks by cultiv8 · · Score: 3, Funny

    russia got more action than california. just sayin'.

    --
    sysadmins and parents of newborns get the same amount of sleep.
    1. Re:me thinks by owenferguson · · Score: 1

      "California Girls." vs. "Back in the U.S.S.R."

  2. Too far by physlord · · Score: 1

    Come on, this America vs Russia thing is getting too far. Whats next? Brag about what meteor was bigger, or brighter?

    1. Re:Too far by gmuslera · · Score: 4, Funny

      If a meteor strikes a big city, then USA could start the War on Space. Will still be madness, but at least this time won't be thousands of civil casualties because of it.

    2. Re:Too far by Endovior · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That'd actually be a good thing, really. I mean, it's short-term terrible about civilian casualties and the destruction of a city and all, but long-term, the investments in space technology and meteor detection would be vastly more positive for everyone in general than any of these other wars have been.

    3. Re:Too far by The+Master+Control+P · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The Titanic had to sink before the fools listened to people saying "ships should have enough lifeboats for everyone, and the radio should always be on."
      Hundreds of people had to burn to death in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire before the fools listened to progressives saying "locking the doors is bullshit."

      So yes, I fully expect that we're going to have to see a large city or small nation vaporized before the threat is taken seriously.

    4. Re:Too far by richard.york · · Score: 1

      In Soviet Russia, meteor strikes YOU! FTFY

    5. Re:Too far by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It is difficult to hit a small nation from the sky. The first casualties of a meteor strike will be from China, Russia, USA or India.

    6. Re:Too far by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes, and how many people need to die from lightning before we build an iron dome to protect us from the weather?

      Meteor impacts are very low probability events. Just because after thousands of years of human history we now are approaching the technology level to deal with meteors doesn't mean that the risk of meteors has changed. And if you are worried about extinction events, 99.999% of your attention should be focused on the ones that humans would cause (nuclear war, bioweapons release, etc.).

    7. Re:Too far by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Your post would've been modded '+5 Informative' if you had signed in. And many people aren't aware that mod points can be freely exchanged for bitcoins. (True fiction!)

    8. Re:Too far by gmuslera · · Score: 1

      Is difficult to hit a specific small nation. And more important, is very difficult to hit a city, even or specially a big one,, with rich enough people live in it, to make governments worry about it. Odds are high that will strike ocean (and probably several did in the last decades, if weren't bigger than recent Russia ones) or deserted land.

      But the problem are big ones. With them don't matter the exact point where it hits. And if you didn't invested to detect early or advance enough tech to be able to do something, will be nothing that you can do to avoid it.

    9. Re:Too far by doug141 · · Score: 2

      Some low-probability events that did cause big changes in public policy: dying in a terrorist attack, having a kid get shot at school, dying in a plane crash.

    10. Re:Too far by houghi · · Score: 1

      Thousands of people had to die in a terrorist attack before we took airport security serious.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    11. Re:Too far by gmuslera · · Score: 1

      Shit and black swans happens. And probably would had been mapped every grain of sand in the solar system with the money "invested" in wars which real justification is just profit of a few..

    12. Re:Too far by magarity · · Score: 1

      Thousands of people had to die in a terrorist attack before we took airport security too serious.

      FTFY

    13. Re:Too far by uninformedLuddite · · Score: 1

      Someone is going to post your picture to twitter soon

      --
      The new right fascists are bilingual. They speak English and Bullshit.
  3. i understand that meteors are neat and all.. by wierd_w · · Score: 3, Insightful

    But really now.. I have seen many fall this year driving home from work. One even lasted 5 seconds before burning out, and was brilliant white. (Saw it sometime in February.)

    Do people on the coasts just have so much light pollution that anything other than a jumbojet or helicopter with running lights on causes excitement? Seriously, meteors happen all the time. The one that fell over russia was especially large, and had a lot of energy. That's why it was news. This one over the east coast just sounds like your garden variety to me.

    What's all the buzz about?

    1. Re:i understand that meteors are neat and all.. by Sperbels · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Because most people never see one like that and don't realize it's fairly common. After the Russian incident, any bolide means THE SKY IS FALLING!! and they click on it. The buzz will die eventually.

    2. Re:i understand that meteors are neat and all.. by AvitarX · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It was pretty amazing. I saw it in China town of Philadelphia. It was bright. Like a firework.

      actually I thought it was a firework until seeing this post, but the timing matches, and it was moving like a meteor.

      I've gone to very rural areas for meteor showers, and never seen anything like this, and it was in a fairly major city, and randomly.

      it was thicker, and sparklier than any I've seen, even with the light pollution.

      --
      Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
    3. Re:i understand that meteors are neat and all.. by wierd_w · · Score: 1

      Hmm.. sounds similar to the 5 sec one I saw in Feb then. It looked a lot like a white phosphorus shell, and was equally bright. Lit up the whole area, which is what caught my attention while driving home that night.

      Prior to that, the brightest I had seen this year was a lovely green one that lasted about 1 sec.

      Don't get me wrong, I don't to be bag on anyone, and 8sec is a very long lived object, but it still isn't anything to be seriously concerned about. Just smile because you got to see something cool, and move on.

      *shrug*

    4. Re:i understand that meteors are neat and all.. by The+Master+Control+P · · Score: 5, Funny

      it was thicker, and sparklier than any I've seen,

      ... Is this about a meteor or the porn version of Twilight?

    5. Re:i understand that meteors are neat and all.. by sjames · · Score: 2

      Sadly, light pollution is a huge problem on the east coast and it's spreading. It has been a long time since the pink glow appeared in the sky where I live and it keeps getting worse. There are places where kids don't know you're supposed to see stars when you look up at night. It takes a fairly bright light to make an impression in a lot of places.

    6. Re:i understand that meteors are neat and all.. by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      Yes, that was absolutely what I did.

      I was just trying to differentiate it from he ones that one sees regularly in more rural areas.

      --
      Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
    7. Re:i understand that meteors are neat and all.. by Cognizant · · Score: 1

      My wife and i both saw this one from the back yard here in Bradenton, Fl. While i see quite a few of them myself this one was pretty bright. Short only lasting a few seconds. What makes it stand out to me was even through tree branches it was a pretty bright flash of light. Much brighter than normal compared to the dozen or so I've seen in the last few months. and there is a lot of light pollution here.

  4. Did it make a sound? by istartedi · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Unless it made a sound, it's no big deal. I've been lucky enough to witness one meteor that made a sound. It was during a Perseid shower 20 years ago. A particularly bright one lit us up enough to cast a shadow. I turned just in time to see the tail end of it, then I heard a sound. It was as if the show put on a finale for us. After that, they were all just tiny streaks and then the shower was over for us.

    --
    For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
    1. Re:Did it make a sound? by kangsterizer · · Score: 1

      i had of the kind, at night, where it actually lights the place around up quite a bit. we all looked at ourselves and all thought "ok, so, that's whats the end of the world is like". then it fell in the ocean somewhere, sufficiently far enough away. Biggest i've ever seen.. and hopefully i'll ever see. we were all grown ups, yet all scared :P

    2. Re:Did it make a sound? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Where was the ka-boom? There's supposed to be an earth shattering ka-boom!!!

    3. Re:Did it make a sound? by rusty0101 · · Score: 1

      Hey Doc, can you point me to the local u-drive-em spaceship rentals?

      --
      You never know...
    4. Re:Did it make a sound? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Unless it made a sound, it's no big deal. I've been lucky enough to witness one meteor that made a sound. It was during a Perseid shower 20 years ago. A particularly bright one lit us up enough to cast a shadow. I turned just in time to see the tail end of it, then I heard a sound. It was as if the show put on a finale for us. After that, they were all just tiny streaks and then the shower was over for us.

      In Utah we had a meteor that lit up the night sky so that it appeared to be daylight for a brief moment along with a loud explosion. It was a local news story.

    5. Re:Did it make a sound? by ShaunC · · Score: 1

      It was more like a KAPOOYA.

      --
      Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
    6. Re:Did it make a sound? by steelfood · · Score: 1

      I saw a Leonid meteor shower around 10 years ago, and that ended with quite the bang too. It peaked, a large one appeared with sound and all, and then it quieted down almost immediately, much like your typical fireworks show.

      --
      "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
    7. Re:Did it make a sound? by Neil+Boekend · · Score: 1

      No earth shattering KABOOM's please. I need this earth to hold my oxygen at pressure. If it's shattered I'd need to find an other way (quickly).

      --
      Well, I might have a way, but it only works on a semi spherical planet in a vacuum.
  5. wish i'd seen it by wbr1 · · Score: 3, Informative

    I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing a fireball meteor in the earlghty 90's. I was 13 or so and night fishing. Saw light on the trees across the lake. Thought it was headlights at first, then realized it wasnt. It streaked overhead, then it was gonee behind the trees. Then there was a flash. After came the sound. Scared me a bit at first. Gave me my love of astronmy though.

    --
    Silence is a state of mime.
    1. Re:wish i'd seen it by wbr1 · · Score: 1

      I was typing on a phone. I even saw my errors, but the jscript on /. makes my browser act funny when trying to select text or move the cursor. It gets fairly unresponsive and touches don't go where you would expect in the textarea box. So I decided not to fix them as it was readable enough. In real life my profundity, vocabulary, and prolixity would leave your jaw agape and your knickers twisted.

      --
      Silence is a state of mime.
    2. Re:wish i'd seen it by Will.Woodhull · · Score: 1

      Grammar trolls have other trolls to bother and to bite them...

      Besides, it is not "grammar trolls". It is "grammar nazis". A grammar troll would be someone whose intensive purposes were to cause a Gentle Reader to transform into a Grammar Nazi and reply thusly.

      ....?

      Oh Noes! I have been grammar trolled!

      --
      Will
  6. Conspiracy by pitchpipe · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's a well orchestrated conspiracy by astrophysicists to vastly increase their government funding. These fat-cat scientists must be stopped now!

    --
    Look where all this talking got us, baby.
    1. Re:Conspiracy by The+Master+Control+P · · Score: 3, Funny

      If they can control meteors and fly them into earth at will, we should give them the money. I mean really, let's be realistic here.

    2. Re:Conspiracy by Jherek+Carnelian · · Score: 4, Funny

      If they can control meteors and fly them into earth at will, we should give them the money. I mean really, let's be realistic here.

      We do not negotiate with meteorologists!

    3. Re:Conspiracy by rusty0101 · · Score: 2

      Astrologers on the other hand...

      --
      You never know...
    4. Re:Conspiracy by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      politicians and the news media are fanning the fires of fears of a massive strike, the astrophysicists have already won.

  7. Three notable meteors close together by Grayhand · · Score: 1, Interesting

    We're talking three significant meteors within a few weeks at the same general latitude. Everyone will say they are unrelated but it seems possible. End of the world? Give me a break. I think it's more likely a minor cluster that haven't been identified. More of a curiosity than a threat. Without knowing the path it's impossible to know if they'd cross our path in our lifetimes again. If they are part of a loose association of asteroids odds are this is the tail end of it. I'd be curious if there were more air strikes than usual during this period? Like I say more of a curiosity than anything. The point is there are probably hundreds if not thousands of these mini clusters if that's what this is that remain unidentified. We may cross several every hundred years or so with no idea that's what's happening. Just wish I'd seen one of them!

    1. Re:Three notable meteors close together by black3d · · Score: 2

      Not even a cluster - a meteor this size occurs several times a day naturally. The Russian one was more notable as it only occurs a few times a year. That being spotted was, in itself, fairly rare as most of the planet is unpopulated.

      If this had occurred during daylight (when, approximately half do) it wouldn't have been spotted. As bright as the moon is not, generally, bright enough to see in sunlight, unless you happen to be looking at the right spot (that's not to say you can't see it during the day sometimes, but when the moon is in full light, that means the sun is at a fairly low angle - it's not that 'bright' yet). For it to happen at night, in a populated area, makes it uncommon, but as these occur several times a day, not that amazing. The fact that it occurred over the East Coast of America simply means ZOMG MEDIA FRENZY.

      I've been lucky enough to see 6 or 7 large fireballs in my lifetime, most recently including this one over Sydney (not my video - at least I believe that's the one I saw, it was around that time of the year, had some minimal media coverage) and this one over New Zealand which (again, presuming thats the same one I'm thinking of) exploded into several pieces and was accompanied by a great series of sonic booms. I'll usually see at least one regular meteor (ie, shooting star) a night just gazing at the sky. (Smoking ciggies leads to a lot of time spent outside in evenings.)

      Don't worry - not a cluster. An everyday occurrence for planet earth. Just not an everyday occurrence for each of us. :)

      --
      "The true measure of a person is how they act when they know they won't get caught." - DSRilk
  8. Isn't it time... by DaHat · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...for common sense meteor control?

    We cannot stand by and let these senseless meteors fall upon our great world... no! We must pass laws to require all meteor's that wish to pass within a parsec of us undergo a background check.

    More so, we must declare the surface of the earth a "meteor free zone" and let it be known far and wide... that we do not allow meteor violence here!

    --
    Help Brendan pay off his student loans
    1. Re:Isn't it time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The TSA has said they will allow meteors to carry knives of 2.73" or less into the atmosphere

  9. Ghost Protocol by walkerreuben · · Score: 1

    Clearly what happened is the Americans fired an atomic missile at the Russians, but they managed to stop it, and then the Russians tried the same trick on the Americans, but they managed to stop it as well. Either that, or it turns out that these fancy atomic things don't work as well as they used to. Or for those who want a conspiracy theory, they're actually releasing mind altering chemicals. Or the alien version would be that they're probes for the coming mothership. For the 2012 fan, sorry, they messed up the maths. They meant 21st of December, 2013.

  10. Not very spectacular by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Saw a much more spectacular and sky lighting up meteor in southern wisconsin 3 years ago which would comparably put this one to shame, But I suppose after the russian one, one becomes fearful of such events.

  11. no, no I did not by Osgeld · · Score: 1

    its heavily overcast here and I am hundreds of miles from the east coast ya douche

  12. No explosion? by roman_mir · · Score: 2

    No huge explosion?
    No shattered windows?
    No collateral damage?
    No pieces on eBay yet?
    Lame.

    --
    You can't handle the truth.
  13. Professor Frink says... by SternisheFan · · Score: 2
    PROFESSOR FRINK: "That comet is headed straight for us, with the fire and the impact and the 100% chance of pain... pain in the glaving!"

    KENT BROCKMAN: "Professor, without knowing precisely what the danger is, would you say it's time for our viewers to crack each other's heads open and feast on the goo inside?"

    PROFESSOR FRINK: "Yes I would, Kent."

  14. Zhirinovksky's Counter Attack! by LazLong · · Score: 1

    Aha! Russia has retaliated for our meteor strike over Chelyabinsk!! ;-)

    In case you don't get the reference:

    http://rt.com/politics/zhirinovsky-meteorite-american-weapon-316/

  15. Where that meteor land ? by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 1

    Anyone knows ??

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
  16. Meteorite composition? by aussie.virologist · · Score: 1

    I noticed a lot of the comments saying that the tail was blue/green with a white/ yellow explosion. Is there anyone in the know who can comment if this gives an indication of the meteorites' composition. Green maybe indicating copper content, yellow maybe Sulfur? If so can you use the colour of tail upon entry to identify meteorites that have the same colour as being of the same origin? Just thinkin'

    1. Re:Meteorite composition? by SternisheFan · · Score: 2

      I noticed a lot of the comments saying that the tail was blue/green with a white/ yellow explosion. Is there anyone in the know who can comment if this gives an indication of the meteorites' composition. Green maybe indicating copper content, yellow maybe Sulfur? If so can you use the colour of tail upon entry to identify meteorites that have the same colour as being of the same origin? Just thinkin'

      Wikipedia: Most meteors glow for about a second. A relatively small percentage of meteoroids hit the Earth's atmosphere and then pass out again: these are termed Earth-grazing fireballs (for example The Great Daylight 1972 Fireball). The visible light produced by a meteor may take on various hues, depending on the chemical composition of the meteoroid, and the speed of its movement through the atmosphere. As layers of the meteoroid abrade and ionize, the color of the light emitted may change according to the layering of minerals. Possible colors (and elements producing them) include:

      Orange/yellow (sodium)

      Yellow (iron)

      Blue/green (copper)

      Purple (potassium)

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteoroid

    2. Re:Meteorite composition? by aussie.virologist · · Score: 1

      Cool, thanks SternisheFan, good ol' wiki :) I wonder if it would be possible to record the spectra of light being emitted and then match other meteors with the same spectral pattern. If the fragments that have been hitting lately all have the same colour pattern it may imply that they came from a single source. It's probably already being done, I'm a virologist not an astronomer so I don't know about these things. Surely we have enough high quality "scopes" recording what is going on in the upper atmosphere to compare data. Cheers.

  17. Re:FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT !! by TapeCutter · · Score: 1

    Showing my age, but I actually remember when that was a hit on the radio.

    --
    And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  18. Re:FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT !! by SternisheFan · · Score: 1

    Showing my age, but I actually remember when that was a hit on the radio.

    "The Streak" came out in 1974, I thought it was even earlier than that.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Streak

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtzoUu7w-YM

  19. I saw it! by PeeAitchPee · · Score: 2

    I was out walking my dog (about 25 minutes northeast of downtown Baltimore, MD) and happened to be facing the right way (north). I saw a large, very bright light green meteor with a yellow tail streak across the sky, moving east. It lasted about four or 5 seconds and didn't make a sound. It was beautiful . . . I've never seen anything like it!

    1. Re:I saw it! by x_t0ken_407 · · Score: 1

      You lucky bastige!

    2. Re:I saw it! by ae1294 · · Score: 1

      I was out walking my dog (about 25 minutes northeast of downtown Baltimore, MD) and happened to be facing the right way (north). I saw a large, very bright light green meteor with a yellow tail streak across the sky, moving east. It lasted about four or 5 seconds and didn't make a sound. It was beautiful . . . I've never seen anything like it!

      There is no earthly way you could have known which way to be facing to see this which means you must be a WITCH! BURN THE WITCH!!!

  20. Anyone have an actual video file ... by Skapare · · Score: 1

    ... that can be downloaded of this thing? Formats like dirac, mp2, mp4, ogg theora, vp8, are fine. I need to play it in mplayer.

    --
    now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
  21. Re:Dashcams? by Skapare · · Score: 1

    I was planning to buy one soon, but it was a GoPro one and now I'm boycotting GoPro.

    --
    now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
  22. OT: seasonal differences by Will.Woodhull · · Score: 1

    You have Springter in Scotland?

    Oh that sounds so nice. All we got here in Oregon is Second Winter.

    --
    Will
    1. Re:OT: seasonal differences by SternisheFan · · Score: 2

      You have Springter in Scotland?

      Oh that sounds so nice. All we got here in Oregon is Second Winter.

      I googled 'springter' and it's in the urban dictionary...

      1. Springter

      (noun) 1. when winter just won't let go and spring should be here but you're experiencing multiple blizzards and making more snowmen in one week than you did all winter 2. when you see green grass peeking through the snowpiles 3. when your windows are open to let in a fresh spring breeze but you are still wearing mittens and scraping your windshield.

      On March 31st we had another blizzard, Springter is finally here!

      http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Springter

    2. Re:OT: seasonal differences by GoogleShill · · Score: 1

      I believe that is the first urban dictionary link I've ever seen that didn't need to be prefaced with "NSFW"!

  23. Re:Dont worry. by flayzernax · · Score: 1

    Nope just the para-military playing with UFO tech or shooting down aliens trying to scrap them XCOM style.

  24. Training by phorm · · Score: 1

    They're already got a training application for that...