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

Tue Jan 19 15:53:00 EST 2010

What's a bolide?

Chris

From: chaos-l-bounces at rtpnet.org [mailto:chaos-l-bounces at rtpnet.org] On
Behalf Of Johnson, Nicholas L. (JSC-KX111)
Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 3:31 PM
To: Peter Smith; Jim Scarborough
Cc: chaos-l at rtpnet.org
Subject: Re: [Chaos-l] Fwd: Fwd: What did I see in the sky last night?

No cataloged space objects which could have produced such a visual show
reentered the atmosphere last night.  Therefore, the sighting was very
possibly a bolide.

Regards,

Nicholas L. Johnson

NASA Chief Scientist for Orbital Debris

From: Peter Smith [mailto:psmith at leaptec.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 12:46 PM
To: Jim Scarborough; Johnson, Nicholas L. (JSC-KX111)
Cc: chaos-l at rtpnet.org
Subject: RE: [Chaos-l] Fwd: Fwd: What did I see in the sky last night?

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>
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

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>

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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