Dec. 16th at 9 p.m. CST, a very bright meteor

Thu Dec 17, 2009 9:31 pm » by **Dirttyrabbit**

http://www.spaceweather.com/

CURIOUS EVENTS IN NEBRASKA: "Last night, Dec. 16th at 9 p.m. CST, a very bright meteor lit up the completely overcast sky like lightning in southeast Nebraska," reports Trooper Jerry Chab of the Nebraska State Patrol. "It flashed for approximately 2 seconds and was followed by sonic booms and ground shaking, which prompted many calls by the public to law enforcement in a three county wide area." Meanwhile, the USGS says there was a magnitude 3.5 earthquake near Auburn, Nebraska, at 8:53 pm, about the same time and place as the fireball. This map shows the nominal epicenter:

"If the earthquake is confirmed, as it appears to be, I think we have the most cosmic of coincidences: A large fireball around the same time of an earthquake," says Chab. "I am simply amazed!"

One possible interpretation of these events is that a small asteroid hit Earth's atmosphere and caused the ground to shake when it exploded in mid-air. However, the timing might not be right. The quake seems to have preceded the fireball. Several readers have pointed out studies that associate lightning-like phenomena with earthquakes: #1, #2, #3. So, the earthquake might be responsible for both the shaking and the light show. Or it might be a big coincidence just as Chab suggests.

Thu Dec 17, 2009 9:35 pm » by **Dirttyrabbit**

Colliding Auroras Produce Explosions of Light

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009 ... ollide.htm

December 17, 2009: A network of cameras deployed around the Arctic in support of NASA's THEMIS mission has made a startling discovery about the Northern Lights. Sometimes, vast curtains of aurora borealis collide, producing spectacular outbursts of light. Movies of the phenomenon were unveiled at the Fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union today in San Francisco.

"Our jaws dropped when we saw the movies for the first time," says space scientist Larry Lyons of UCLA, a leading member of the team that made the discovery. "These outbursts are telling us something very fundamental about the nature of auroras."

click on the link to read the rest and see video

Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:05 pm » by **Dirttyrabbit**

Astronomers seek fireball witnesses

(UKPA) – 2 days ago
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpres ... 2WkiaCNftQ
Astronomy experts are appealing for witnesses to an extremely rare fireball believed to have blazed across the morning sky.

The spectacular sight, which star-gazers claim happened just before dawn on Monday, is being attributed to a massive meteor shower currently taking place over the northern hemisphere.

"The fireball is really very special and unusual," Astronomy Ireland chairman David Moore said.

Fri Dec 18, 2009 4:31 am » by **Dirttyrabbit**

Published 18 June 2009

Pentagon to deny scientists access to meteors data
There was an unofficial arrangement between the Pentagon and top U.S. scientists: the Pentagon's missile-launch and nuclear-blast detection satellites are also great for spotting meteors as they flame out in the Earth's atmosphere, and the Pentagon shared the latter information with scientists; the Pentagon says it will no longer do so

This cannot be good news: A new rule by the U.S. Department of Defense will deny U.S. top scientific the ability to check out data from classified satellites on incoming meteors hurtling toward earth.

Nature’s Geoff Brumfiel reports that the Pentagon ended an informal arrangement with astronomers that gave the scientists access to data from the Defense Support Program satellite network, part of the Pentagon’s early-warning system. Nathan Hodge writes that these satellites can detect missile launches or atmospheric nuclear blasts, but they are also great for spotting meteors as they flame out in the Earth’s atmosphere.

According to Brumfiel, the military provided some data to astronomers, often through “anonymous, tersely worded e-mail[s] describing the coordinates, altitude and size of a fireball.” While the information was succinct, it was of great help to researchers.

Brumfiel was not able confirm why this ad hoc arrangement ended, although one of his sources notes that the change coincided with the expensive and hush-hush Space-Based Infrared System entering operational service.

http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/pen ... teors-data