William Atkins
Saturday, 24 January 2009 19:20
Science -
Space
Page 1 of 2
On January 17, 2009, early in the evening, a meteor shot across the Nordic sky and and brightened up the dark night sky for several seconds. It then exploded with a gigantic booming sound. Videos and images are provided by SpaceWeather.com.
As the fireball (another word for a very bright meteor) raced across the early evening sky, at around 1909 Universal Time (UT), 8:09 p.m. local time in Denmark, its frictional interaction with the Earth’s atmosphere turned the darkened sky a bright color of blue.
A
meteor is defined as a rocky mass from outer space that burns up within the atmosphere after entering the sky above Earth.
On the other hand, a
meteoroid is defined as a rocky mass still in outer space and outside of Earth’s atmosphere; and a
meteorite is a rocky mass that has successfully impacted the Earth’s surface after racing through its atmosphere.
Swedish resident Roger Svensson, who just happened to have his video camera with him, took a video of the event. To watch the video, please go the SpaceWeather.com website “
Scandinavian Fireball Sightings: Jan. 17, 2009.”
General aviation meteorologist Jacob Kuiper, with the Dutch National Weather Service, said in the article that his office telephones rang incessantly as people reported the incidence.
Kuiper reported, "
The Dutch Coast Guard has been overwhelmed with eyewitness reports, sometimes 20 phone calls in a few minutes. People along the whole North Seacoast reported the sighting.”
He added,
“It was a lucky shot that parts of the Netherlands were situated in a cloudless gap between 2 frontal systems … made at 1900 UTC, just 9 minutes before time of fireball's appearance." [SpaceWeather.com]
Page two provides comments from observers of the skyward event.
