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I used to do some astrophotography and I won't ever forget watching one night during the Perseids as a massive fireball streamed across the sky, completely unex

by mym1990 4y ago

I used to do some astrophotography and I won't ever forget watching one night during the Perseids as a massive fireball streamed across the sky, completely unexpected, the thing was in the sky for a proper 2-3 seconds. I remember being freezing that night, and it was about a 1 hour drive to get to the location, absolutely worth it though!

madaxe_again 4y ago
I still do astrophotography - but nothing will ever top the broad daylight bolide I saw over France 30 years ago aged 10 or so - huge blue fireball labouring its way across the sky before disintegrating in an explosion as bright as the sun. I actually dropped to my knees in awe, the garbage I was carrying utterly forgotten.
- defrost 4y ago
  Can I recommend: Desert Fireball Network (Curtin University) http://fireballsinthesky.com.au/ http://fireballsinthesky.com.au/ https://gfo.rocks/blog.html https://gfo.rocks/blog.html One way amateurs can help is by setting up a meteor detection system and engaging in a little citizen science. A few years ago this was an expensive task, but now with a Raspberry Pi and some simple electronic parts it’s much easier. https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/diy/raspberry-pi-meteor-detector/ https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/diy/raspberry-pi-m...
- mym1990 4y ago
  I wonder what percentage of people will go a whole lifetime without seeing a bolide, or even a shooting star. Dark sky areas are harder and harder to come across as well, and I bet looking up at the sky for a few minutes is becoming more of a rarity as well.
  - Pompidou 4y ago
    Even with pure Sky, a lot of people don't look up. I think its more a matter of education. We have to learn to young people to watch the Sky, and how to watch it (being able to identify stars, constellations, the ecliptic plane, ...).
  - madaxe_again 4y ago
    Plenty. I live in a very dark sky area - about 2 bortle - and I threw a small star party for some local friends and their friends. They were astonished when I pointed out that you can see satellites, and there was some lively debate over whether the milky way was just a cloud. It just isn’t important to most people. It’s understandable - our gods used to be in the sky - now they are on the television.
dotancohen 4y ago
Was that in 2016? I've been watching meteor showers for about 40 years, but the 2016 Peseids was just amazing. At it's peak, we were getting 2 or 3 large meteors per minute. We couldn't stop saying "wow" about one before another would streak 1/3 across the sky. And I'm sure that we saw over a dozen bolides, at least one or two bright enough to cast shadows on the ground. It was that spectacular. I don't remember when the moon set but I believe that it was gone by the time the show peaked between 1 and 2 am. Truly a night I'll never forget.
- mym1990 4y ago
  Probably closer to 2012 or 2013 but I had been watching them almost every year up until 2017 or so. They never disappoint but definitely some years are a different kind of spectacle :)

madaxe_again 4y ago

I still do astrophotography - but nothing will ever top the broad daylight bolide I saw over France 30 years ago aged 10 or so - huge blue fireball labouring its way across the sky before disintegrating in an explosion as bright as the sun. I actually dropped to my knees in awe, the garbage I was carrying utterly forgotten.

defrost 4y ago
Can I recommend: Desert Fireball Network (Curtin University) http://fireballsinthesky.com.au/ http://fireballsinthesky.com.au/ https://gfo.rocks/blog.html https://gfo.rocks/blog.html One way amateurs can help is by setting up a meteor detection system and engaging in a little citizen science. A few years ago this was an expensive task, but now with a Raspberry Pi and some simple electronic parts it’s much easier. https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/diy/raspberry-pi-meteor-detector/ https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/diy/raspberry-pi-m...
mym1990 4y ago
I wonder what percentage of people will go a whole lifetime without seeing a bolide, or even a shooting star. Dark sky areas are harder and harder to come across as well, and I bet looking up at the sky for a few minutes is becoming more of a rarity as well.
- Pompidou 4y ago
  Even with pure Sky, a lot of people don't look up. I think its more a matter of education. We have to learn to young people to watch the Sky, and how to watch it (being able to identify stars, constellations, the ecliptic plane, ...).
- madaxe_again 4y ago
  Plenty. I live in a very dark sky area - about 2 bortle - and I threw a small star party for some local friends and their friends. They were astonished when I pointed out that you can see satellites, and there was some lively debate over whether the milky way was just a cloud. It just isn’t important to most people. It’s understandable - our gods used to be in the sky - now they are on the television.

dotancohen 4y ago

Was that in 2016? I've been watching meteor showers for about 40 years, but the 2016 Peseids was just amazing. At it's peak, we were getting 2 or 3 large meteors per minute. We couldn't stop saying "wow" about one before another would streak 1/3 across the sky. And I'm sure that we saw over a dozen bolides, at least one or two bright enough to cast shadows on the ground. It was that spectacular. I don't remember when the moon set but I believe that it was gone by the time the show peaked between 1 and 2 am. Truly a night I'll never forget.

mym1990 4y ago
Probably closer to 2012 or 2013 but I had been watching them almost every year up until 2017 or so. They never disappoint but definitely some years are a different kind of spectacle :)