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did i see a meteor?

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  • 03-01-2011 12:05pm
    #1
    breadbin
    Registered Users Posts: 692 ✭✭✭


    just asking cos i never seen anything like it!! usually meteors are tiny and white in the sky and travel really fast but the thing last night was so close and greeny/blue. it looked like it was just above the trees and it lit up the sky in mayo for about 2 seconds and disappeared heading south. sort of like a firework but it was travelling in a straight line and horizontal and christ it was faster than anything i ever seen:eek:

    i do know there is a meteorite shower for tonight promised so maybe it was an early one:)

    i tried reasoning with myself about what else it could be and it couldn't be anything else really!


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    #2
    quinnthebin
    Registered Users Posts: 241 ✭✭quinnthebin


    breadbin wrote: »
    just asking cos i never seen anything like it!! usually meteors are tiny and white in the sky and travel really fast but the thing last night was so close and greeny/blue. it looked like it was just above the trees and it lit up the sky in mayo for about 2 seconds and disappeared heading south. sort of like a firework but it was travelling in a straight line and horizontal and christ it was faster than anything i ever seen:eek:

    i do know there is a meteorite shower for tonight promised so maybe it was an early one:)

    i tried reasoning with myself about what else it could be and it couldn't be anything else really!


    sounds like it could be. the timing is right with the current quadrantids shower.

    "The Quadrantids is the very first meteor shower of the year, as well as and one of the strongest. The Quadrantids are well known for producing fireballs, meteors that are exceptionally bright and at times produce persistent trails (also known as trains). This annual celestial event is active from January 1st through January 10th and peaks on January 4th"

    taken from http://www.spacedex.com/quadrantids/



    You could report it on http://www.astronomy.ie/fireball.php


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    #3
    Cass
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 28,542 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cass


    Hello all, first post here so be gentle.

    I was about to start a thread when i caught the title of this and it is exactly what i wanted to ask about.

    I was standing out the back of my house last night, letting the dogs have a run (long story). I usually gaze up into the sky as its mostly clear and you get to see alot. Last night however was very cloudy with no stars visible. The back of the house faces south then with my peripheral vision i caught a light in the sky coming from above me but over my left shoulder (so coming from a North-North east direction traveling south).

    I looked up and then the entire sky filled with the most brilliant white light that turned the sky blue, and for about 2.5 seconds is was as if daytime. It seemed bigger, brighter and lastly longer than anything i've seen before. The clouds became so visible and clear. You could see the outline of them. Of course i had the "we're being invaded, 1 second childish moment, but when that passed i stayed tuned to the sky for about a half hour in case there was more to follow.

    I really just wanted to ask what it was, had anyone else seen it and are they common, but it seems this thread answers most of that.

    Anyway, was great to see.

    Ez.
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    If you see a problem post use the report post function. Click on the three dots on the post, select "FLAG" & let a Moderator deal with it.

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    #4
    breadbin
    Registered Users Posts: 692 ✭✭✭breadbin


    aw yeah ez it was amazing!! i had that moment too of little green men for a split second before i started trying to make sense of it cos it just blew me away. i literally never seen anything like it, the speed especially. it raced across the night sky and was gone in 2 seconds i say. it looked so close too not like the ususal meteor showers you see:) thats why i thought it was so weird:)

    you hear about the stargazing on the bbc? special 3 part program that mentioned it last night but its on again tonight:)


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    #5
    quinnthebin
    Registered Users Posts: 241 ✭✭quinnthebin


    ezridax wrote: »

    I really just wanted to ask what it was, had anyone else seen it and are they common, but it seems this thread answers most of that.


    Doesn't look like this one attracted as much attention as the one I was lucky enough to witness a couple of months back - might be the timing?

    Some of the experts might be able to answer the frequency question but I'd guess there are only a handful reported each year and the chances of witnessing one are very slim. I'm not expecting to be lucky enough to see a second one in my lifetime - hopefully i'm wrong as they're a spectacular sight.

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056103858


    note to self: learn how to link neatly :)


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