[Chaos-l] Fwd: Fwd: What did I see in the sky last night?

[Peter Smith]

Yes, I was fortunate enough to see this event last night, or at least the last few seconds of it.

I stepped out onto my deck to admire the clear sky. As I was looking downwards negotiating some steps in the dark, there was a sudden flash. I thought it was lightening at first and glanced up to see the trailing tail of what I thought must be a bolide streaking north. Amy's description was very accurate, it looked like the tail of a firework, obviously an object disintegrating at high speed. It lasted all but a couple of seconds and left a feint trail.

This is only the second time I have seen such a thing and feel very fortunate to do so. I was wondering if there would  be any other sightings reported, glad to hear there was.

Peter Smith - Hillsborough


From: chaos-l-bounces at rtpnet.org [mailto:chaos-l-bounces at rtpnet.org] On Behalf Of Jim Scarborough
Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 1:25 PM
To: nicholas.l.johnson at nasa.gov
Cc: chaos-l at rtpnet.org
Subject: [Chaos-l] Fwd: Fwd: What did I see in the sky last night?

Dear Dr. Johnson:

Amy Kasten, below, saw something burn up as it entered the atmosphere, near 35.906864 N 79.088343W at about 2010-01-19 01:53 GMT.  Since you track orbital debris, perhaps you were expecting something to reenter?  Any insight would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Jim Scarborough
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jon Stewart-Taylor <joncst at earthlink.net<mailto:joncst at earthlink.net>>
Date: Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 12:40 PM
Subject: [Chaos-l] Fwd: What did I see in the sky last night?
To: chaos-l at rtpnet.org<mailto:chaos-l at rtpnet.org>

Hi all.  Received the following from Ms. Kasten.  Did anyone else see this, or read about it?  My first guess is a bit of space junk, but i'm open to suggestions.

Thanks.

J.

Begin forwarded message:


From: "Amy Kasten" <amy.kasten[...]>
Date: January 19, 2010 11:44:05 AM EST
To: <chaos at rtpnet.org<mailto:chaos at rtpnet.org>>
Subject: What did I see in the sky last night?

To Whom it May Concern:

I live in Carrboro off 54 and Smith Level road.  I took my dogs for a walk last night around 8:45/9:00pm and as I looked up in the northern sky, right before me, maybe 30 degrees above the horizon, fell a burning object.  I'm not sure if it was a meteor or something else, but it felt very close.  I saw it start falling and then it grew in intensity and it continued to fall very slowly for about 5 seconds (not like in a meteor shower where it streaks far across the sky in a flash).  Also, unlike a shower, the light path was not just a fine streak in the distance--I saw the grainy, sparkly fire in the object's trail.  It reminded me of those fireworks that burn as they fall (they look like hair, or weeping willows maybe).

I'm not sure if anyone captured this event, but if your club or other astronomical unit you know can speak to this, I would really like to know what I saw.

Thanks so much,


Amy Kasten
Research Analyst


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