Anyone see the huge meteorite?

[alex]

I was looking out the window about 40 minutes ago and took a double take - the moon was on fire! Well I thought that until I realised it was moving. It was huge, about the size of a football, and was in the sky over a minute. I've seen meteorites before and they last a few seconds, but this was around well over a minute. Unlike others I've seen it was moving so slowly, at one point I thought it may be a burning plane, but it got smaller and smaller and vanished. I saw it from Oakham, Rutland, and it was 'flying' in a southerly direction. I really hope it wasn't a plane (and doubt that it was), but I guess I've just witnessed one of those once in a lifetime events.

 

[Systreg]

it was probably Comet McNaught which is over the UK at the moment, read about it the other day, see here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...t-green-comet-visible-UK-skies-rest-week.html

As of June 17th:

‘From about today and for the next week it will be visible in the night sky across much of the UK,’ Professor Mason said.

He said that the best time to view the comet in the UK will be on the night of June 22nd when it will be just about visible to the naked eye.

 

[alex]

Thanks for the link, just had a quick read and I don't think it was. What I saw was bright orange and did not have a green tail. I'll keep an eye out for the comet though.

edit... It wasn't 'just visible' either, it was huge and filled the sky with light as if it was a full moon. It looked more like this image found on Google http://www.thetechherald.com/media/images/200849/meteor_1_2.jpg

 

[alex]

Having thought about it I don't know of meteorites lasting so long so I guess it could have been a sky lantern or something similar, that said it did look like the photo in my previous post and it lit up the sky. I'd like to think it was a meteorite but I guess I'll never know and given the length of time in the sky it may not have been.

 

[crabfoot]

When I was young and irrational, some people I knew were flying hydrogen balloons from the top storey of the car park in Slough. These things were made of paper, about 8ft across when inflated, and always ended by turning into a fireball. The local paper was running so many articles on UFO sightings that it would have been embarrassing to tell them the truth ...

It does sound like the technology is not dead.

 

[JMOT]

chances are it was a sky lantern. You know, the ones they light in asia and let off into the sky!

Last saturday in a pissed state at someones BBQ after the football I had a UFO moment as one rose into the sky burning bright orange...then flickered out about 2 minutes later

Then another, then another LOL

 

[doodlebug]

Guilty as charged

I have amazing footage of 2 UFOs on my phone, wait a minute...... no just realised they are sky lanterns

I did see this mad bright white ball appear in the sky once during a storm, it looked a full moon but mega bright, it appeared suddenly and then went after about 30 secs, it think it was a lightning ball if they exist ?

 

[pendragon]

 

[doodlebug]

Nice post Pen

Was it government info you wanted to share with us

 

[crabfoot]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_lightning

No question about its existence, but I can't be bothered to edit that page.

There's a hotspot on a hillside visible from the windows of South Craven secondary school in W Yorks - lots of people at that school have seen ball lightning "rolling" down the hill, above but not touching the ground. I haven't seen it myself, but I've been told about it by ex-pupils and a (deceased) friend who was a maths teacher there.

 

[stender]

I've just finished a bottle of sauvignon Blanc and am sure Micheal Buble is living in my garage.