By: Gadi Schwartz, Eyewitness News 4, Matthew Kappus, KOB.com Posted at: 10/12/2009 7:17 PM
Scientists think a fireball that flew over New Mexico may have been close enough to actually hit the ground.
A Santa Fe astronomer was able to catch the fiery streak on video. Thomas Ashcraft says the fireball didn't disintegrate when it hit the atmosphere. It may have landed somewhere near Taos.
"If we can get other camera angles, than we can put all the positions together and possibly hunt for an important--scientifically important--meteorite," he said.
The event was also captured by cameras at Sandia National Labs. Scientists estimate the meteor was about the size of a basketball all the way up to that of a small car.
Scientists at Sandia think it disintegrated over Chaco Canyon.
How to watch this week's meteor shower created by Halley's Comet
.. Insert .. New York .. Best time to observe: 11:00pm - 04:30am (EST) Best: Night of May 5 to morning of May 6 California .. Best time to observe: 11:00pm - 04:30am (PST) Best: Night of May 5 to morning of May 6 ok, so we have the time for the centre, too .. http://www.spacedex.com/eta-aquarids/# ......
The Eta Aquarids runs from April 20 until May 21 this year and will reach its peak on the evening of Thursday, May 5.
Lucky stargazers in the southern hemisphere will see meteors dash through the sky at a rate of about 30 or 40 per hour. And northern stargazers won’t be left completely in the dust — they will still be able to see about 10 to 20 meteors per hour.
How to watch
Primetime for the Eta Aquarids will be during the shower’s peak, May 5 through May 7. The new moon on May 6 will offer the darkest skies, providing a perfect backdrop for the shooting stars.
Plan on camping out one or two hours before twilight, as our planet turns into the meteor stream.
You won’t need any telescopes or fancy equipment to see the meteors, just clear skies, your eyes and a little bit of patience. Find a dark, remote spot away from the light pollution of nearby towns and cities, make yourself comfortable and set aside a good chunk of time to enjoy show.
If bad weather or bright lights are preventing you from catching any meteors, Slooh, an online observatory, will be offering a live broadcast of the meteor shower from an observatory on the Canary Islands. See the broadcast stream below.
During the broadcast, professional astronomers will discuss the meteor shower and take questions from the public.
Although Halley’s comet, a ball of ice and rock left over from the formation of our solar system, only makes an appearance every 75 years .. http://www.space.com/19878-halleys-comet.html (we haven’t seen her since 1986), Earth passes through her tail twice a year. We’ll pass through Halley’s tail again in late October, resulting in the Orionid meteor shower.
What causes a meteor shower?
NASA Halley’s comet last crossed the Milky Way in 1986.
The orbits of comets are often a little lopsided.
When a comet swings too close to the Sun, the sun’s light boils its icy surface, releasing particles of ice and dust.
This debris follows the comet’s path, forming a tail that points away from the sun. As Earth crosses the orbit of this comet, we pass through the tail.
The gravity of our planet attracts the dust and ice Halley has left in her wake. When the debris is pulled into our atmosphere, it rubs up against air molecules, causing the debris to burn up and streak through the sky.
This results in glowing trails of light that we see as meteors, or ‘shooting stars.’
During the Eta Aquarids, Earth will collide head on with the debris and meteors will travel through our atmosphere at a speed of about 40 miles per second.
They can appear anywhere in the sky but if you trace their paths back, they all appear to come from the same point, the radiant. That’s because the meteors are all approaching us at the same angle. Meteor showers are all named after the radiant that the meteors can be traced back to.
This particular shower’s radiant, the faint star Eta Aquarii, is located 168 light years away in the constellation Aquarius. Aquarius is located south of the celestial equator, which is why observers in the southern hemisphere get a better show.
Check out the livestream from Slooh .. http://www.slooh.com/ .. beginning on Thursday, May 5, at 8 p.m. ET below:
[ Please note: that must be Australia time so NY -14 hours should be 10am May 4 EDT .. hope that's right ]
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