Too bad this didn't coincide with the Colorado Springs Smofcon

[gerisullivan]

The Cocoa Beach Smofcon took the prizes for Best Opening Ceremonies and Best Tech Ever with the nighttime launch of STS-97. The only thing better than simply seeing a launch from Cape Kennedy was seeing it in the company of fans.

Last night, the sky over Colorado Springs lit up when a superbolide meteor flashed into a fireball while descending to Earth. Astronomer Chris Peterson captured the event on video. "In seven years of operation, this is the brightest fireball I've ever recorded," Peterson said. "I estimate the terminal explosion at magnitude -18, more than 100 times brighter than a full Moon."

Here's a brief article, and Peterson's movie.

I love the Cloadbait Observatory's comment on fireballs: "Seeing a great fireball is an unforgettable, once in a lifetime experience (unless you happen to live in Colorado and may have had several once in a lifetime experiences lately.)"

Comments

[threeringedmoon.livejournal.com]

Bummer! I missed it. Not too surprising since I am rarely up at that time. My pattern of insomnia doesn't usually kick me awake until 2:30 or so.

We did see what may have been a super bollide about ten years ago. It was summer, and I found myself awake and watching out the window when a flash of light occurred. The newspaper had an article the next day saying people had reported hearing / seeing explosions to the east of us.