Bright lights flash across Texas

Originally posted by Mugen

....no I can't. OH, you're not looking at the right lights. Lokk at the tiny flashing lights in the background. That's besides my experience though.

In that case....those lights seem to move with the camera, I would say the person is filming behind glass and the lights are in the room with him/her reflecting off the glass.

They seem to move too quickly (and with the camera) when the cameraman moves to the left.

Originally posted by woogleuk

Originally posted by Mugen

....no I can't. OH, you're not looking at the right lights. Lokk at the tiny flashing lights in the background. That's besides my experience though.

In that case....those lights seem to move with the camera, I would say the person is filming behind glass and the lights are in the room with him/her reflecting off the glass.

They seem to move too quickly (and with the camera) when the cameraman moves to the left.

You're right. It could be.

However i've seen these lights personally.

Originally posted by Manhater

Originally posted by christine76



Here is a really good picture from North Texas. You can really see the green glow that others are describing.

Another awesome picture..

I've seen that picture before. Can't be the same meteor.

You're right, it's not the same meteor.

It's actually a single frame taken from footage of the Peekskill fireball of October 9, 1992.

The footage can be found here in the form of individual clips, but I used this meteor compilation to capture a frame (@ 11 seconds into the compilation) that is virtually identical to the one submitted to Fox News:



Here is the frame from the compilation:


Whoever posted it to Fox flipped the frame to make it less easily recognizable.

Here it is, flipped horizontally, and resized, compared to the frame posted to Fox:


It's not uncommon for misleading images to be posted where meteors and fireballs are concerned - I've seen it many times in the past.

Also, the other image posted here is certainly not a fireball, or the train left by one - it looks more like a bit of cloud lit by the rising sun: thescoopblog.dallasnews.com...

reply to post by FireballStorm

Oh, thank you! I really just needed clarification of this "phenomenon." Obviously there are chances that the viewers submit images that aren't real. Can't expect the local media to research their source. Right?

I didn't see the meteor this morning but I did see the flash. I was just about 1 exit west of Katy Mills mall heading into town. Threw me off for a second and I looked for cars that might have been flashing but there weren't really any in a position to cause the flash I saw.

BTW, thanks everyone who has posted.. I had to leave (ATS) for a while because some things will really get to you. Seriously. I read a thread about how to astral project, and it affected my subconcious. It was not a good experience. I had to quit ATS for a while, and all of the conspiracy "stuff", "fluff", what have you.. Welcome back - Christine!!

reply to post by TXTriker


Awesome, and HELLO to another local ATS'er.. May we all find each other when TSHTF..

Originally posted by christine76
Can't expect the local media to research their source. Right?

The media are useless in general at researching anything connected to meteors.

I should also add that this was a genuine meteor/fireball.

So far 105 reports have been submitted to the American Meteor Society and they are consistent with a large fireball.

It's also worth noting that fireballs of this magnitude are usually not connected to annual meteor showers such as the Geminids. It's much more likely that it was caused by a small asteroid/asteroid fragment entering the atmosphere. Random asteroid hits like this one are not uncommon, but this one was was probably a little bit larger than most that we hear about.

WTF ? Is Texas really so big that everything happens there ?

reply to post by Cuervo


Thanks for bringing that up...I was thinking about the poles when I started to read this!

Originally posted by FireballStorm

Originally posted by christine76
Can't expect the local media to research their source. Right?

The media are useless in general at researching anything connected to meteors.

I should also add that this was a genuine meteor/fireball.

So far 105 reports have been submitted to the American Meteor Society and they are consistent with a large fireball.

It's also worth noting that fireballs of this magnitude are usually not connected to annual meteor showers such as the Geminids. It's much more likely that it was caused by a small asteroid/asteroid fragment entering the atmosphere. Random asteroid hits like this one are not uncommon, but this one was was probably a little bit larger than most that we hear about.

Not sure how you can make such a statement. I mean what makes you the authority?

reply to post by randyvs


I assume you are being faceitous, but have you never visited? Rockport to Dallas is a long way..

According to this website there were also sightings in Louisiana, but heck there are parts of LA and TX that are pretty much the same..

reply to post by randyvs


The answer to your question, sir, is: Yes

Well this is pretty cool information:

All in all, it’s an awesome year to watch the Geminids. What’s more, astronomers are beginning to talk about the Geminids’ parent object in a whole new way. This object, called 3200 Phaethon, has had astronomers stumped for years because – although comets are known to spawn all the other annual meteor showers – this object looks like an asteroid. Now astronomers are thinking 3200 Phaethon might a member of a whole new category of objects, which they’re calling rock comets. If so, you might say the Geminid meteor shower is a rock comet meteor shower. The video below explains more.

linky
It atill doesn't really explain the sighting, but it is pretty awesome that the Geminids will produce some bigger than average sized meteors.

And here is a random linky to some unusual "sightings" in Texas lately..

Originally posted by christine76
Not sure how you can make such a statement. I mean what makes you the authority?

It's actually "meteors & meteor showers 101". I've been researching the subject, reading reports of such events, and actively observing/photographing meteors/fireballs for the last 15 years.

Is there a chance of a meteor from a meteor shower or storm reaching the ground as a meteorite, and is it dangerous to observe meteor storms?

The meteoroids which make up a meteor shower or storm are very fragile in nature, and are composed of a somewhat “fluffy” composite of material from which all volatile material has escaped, due to many trips near the sun. This material readily vaporizes in the upper atmosphere, and is given the descriptive name of “friable” material. While quite spectacular to watch, a meteor storm presents no real danger to the viewer, who is protected by miles of atmosphere.

Source: The American Meteor Society Meteor Shower FAQs

For example, we know that the shooting stars we normally see
are actually VERY high up in our atmosphere - they generally
become visible at altitudes of 80 kilometers or more. And of
course, if you aren't DIRECTLY under the meteor, you will
see it at an angle, from much further off along our globe...

Second, we know that even bright meteors are usually from
very small particles: one the size of a house might light up
the sky like a second sun! And because of the tremendous
energy that a desk- or basketball-sized meteoroid generates
when it "belly-flops" into our atmosphere at over 30,000
mph, we know meteors almost NEVER survive atmospheric entry!

We also know that these small particles - especially the
ones which come from the meteor showers - are usually NOT
very dense. Instead of thinking of them as little rocks or
sand grains, the best analogy for them seems to be "Cosmic
Dustbunnies", or even "Celestial Cotton Candy".

Because of the the small size and low density of meteor-
shower meteors - even the very brightest ones - it's no
small wonder that a meteorite has NEVER been definitely
associated with a meteor shower! Instead, the kind of large,
hard, dense matter that could survive earth's atmosphere is
generally theorized to come from some where else - most
likely, the rocky "asteroids" between the planets. And these
objects are no more common during meteor showers than they
would be at any other time of year.

Source: METEOROBS (The Meteor Observing mailing list)

reply to post by randyvs


Look at a map and then visualize flipping Texas left, right and up. It would touch each coast and canada. From Louisiana to El Paso is over 800 miles.

Originally posted by TXTriker
reply to post by randyvs

 

Look at a map and then visualize flipping Texas left, right and up. It would touch each coast and canada. From Louisiana to El Paso is over 800 miles.

Just check'in, I'm not bag'in on Texas. So you guys are more of a continent than a state !

reply to post by randyvs


Indeed! That is why so many feel we could suceed at secession. (Tricky sentence there). Driving across this state is almost like driving across the entire country. You see just about every climate and terrain in one state that is spread out across the nation.

Love me some Texas even though I'm not a native.

Originally posted by christine76
The National Weather Service tweeted that it could be part of a Russian satellite.


NWSHouston‏@NWSHouston

Preliminary info on strange morning flash over Houston. May have been debris from Russian satellite COSMOS 2251 re-entering atmosphere.

It seems they always blame it on the Russians.