(no subject)

[gothwalk]

I just saw something very large cross the sky outside, as we were coming home. White-green, quite a trail, in the west, travelling down and (apparently) north. It was gone very quickly. I'd say about one-third the diameter of the full moon. Anyone know how to find out what it might have been?

Comments

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Check the website for whatever government bureau does weather, or maybe http://www.spaceweather.com/ and see if we're still in the wake of the Leonids. Remember the fireballs in the sky I posted about a couple days ago? Might be more of the same.

[slovobooks.livejournal.com]

You could try looking at the UFO Society of Ireland page, which might have something on it. Otherwise, you might find something in the papers tomorrow. No opinions myself, except perhaps that these things almost always have a prosaic explanation.

[mcsnee.livejournal.com]

Anyone know how to find out what it might have been?

It was a weather balloon. Stop asking, if you know what's good for you.

[sbisson.livejournal.com]

It's just an Aurora...

[crimmycat.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a fireball - saw one once that went from nearly horizon to horizon, bright enough to leave a rainbow-streaked trail behind it. I wish I'd see more, but I'm not outside much at night, and they're pretty rare. They're much more common - if you can ever call them that - when earth passes through a comet's debris trail, but can occur at any time.

[socmot.livejournal.com]

It defintely, defintely wasn't a UFO. Such things are the cause of aviation, odd meteorolical effects, or else a meteor - and that's probably what it was.

To be more exact, I'd reckon it to be -

A Geminid meteorite (the constellation of Gemini lies north this time of year), although the peak isn't due for about 3 weeks or so.

OR

A late Orionid, although (the constellation Orion lies to the north about this time of year as well, and about that time of night),

OR

It could also have been an incidental meteorite, one that falls at random and isn't connected to any particular shower.

It was probably a bolide (the type of rock), and probably a fairly big one (as in the size of a small marble).
Did it make any noise - any sonic booms? Did it break up or seem to explode? Did you see the train (the trail of it) in any way - was it smoky, or did it look sort of powedery? How long did the whole episode last?

Do all of us amateur astronomy geeks a favour and fill this out, with as much detail as you can remember - http://www.irishastronomy.org/reportFireball.php

[kehoea.livejournal.com]

It's unidentified, it's flying, it's an object; umm, I'd have trouble categorically denying the UFO-ness of it, Tom.

[ezrael.livejournal.com]

Which is a damn shame...not that he didn't claim that it was, but rather that it was not. Or elves, or some other refugees from Magonia.

[socmot.livejournal.com]

Well yeah, but the conventional definition of UFO is "alien spaceship" which this defintely wasn't, Aidan :-)

[juuro.livejournal.com]

I've never yet have come across a observation that I wasn't able to explain away.