Author: Alastair McBeath
2011 Ursids
Here is Alastair McBeath’s analysis of the 2011 Ursids :
Following the disappointing run of badly moonlit, and commonly badly weather-affected, meteor showers in late 2011, sadly the moonless Ursids seemed to have done no better for clearer skies, with scarcely no visual reports received by either the International Meteor Organization (IMO) or SPA. However, as the two advance possible maximum predictions noted earlier here were joined barely a day before the event by a third, suggesting peak ZHRs of ~10-15 on top of the usual activity might happen just before 18h UT on December 22, it has been important since to try to establish what may have taken place.
Data from the IMO’s video observations of the shower were discussed briefly in the Organization’s journal “WGN” 40:2 for 2012 April, pp. 69-75, especially pp. 70-71. They indicated just a single sharp peak had been found at 19h UT on December 22, with an estimated visual-ZHR-equivalent of ~15, although being based largely on European results, any events during European daytime could have been missed.
As the Ursid radiant is circumpolar for all our usual northern hemisphere radio meteor observers, located in Europe and North America primarily, it is one of those rare showers whose activity can be followed from all locations throughout the day and night, interference and other technical problems permitting! Carrying out the usual analysis of this data suggested that Ursid activity had probably been present at a radio-detectable level from roughly 02h UT on December 22 through to at least 11h UT on the 23rd. Within that time, the main shower maximum was undoubtedly in the 19:00-20:00 UT interval on the 22nd (remembering that most radio observers provide data in one-hour long recording periods only). It was surrounded by a spell of better than normal, but below-peak, rates from circa 16h-22h. Judging the strength of meteor activity purely from radio data is extremely difficult, although in this case, it was plausible the Ursid activity was fairly normal, so likely close to ZHRs of ~10-15. This was all reassuringly similar to what the IMO video data had proposed.
There appeared to have been several lesser radio maxima as well, although these were generally less convincingly recorded than the main one. Ignoring those which likely resulted solely from better radiant geometry from the two chief geographic regions, those on December 22 around 10h-12h and on December 23 around 07h UT remained as potentially interesting. Unhappily, the lack of other data meant no further investigation of these could be performed.
It remains intriguing that none of the predicted maximum timings coincided at all well with what was actually found, stressing the importance of making observations for as long as possible whenever a meteor shower peak is due, rather than relying heavily on what is “supposed” to happen!
A list of observers whose reports were used in this analysis can be found on the SPA Forum at forum.popastro.com/viewtopic.php
2011 Geminids
Here is Alastair McBeath’s analysis of the 2011 Geminids:
Today it’s the Geminids’ turn for an update on how they performed last December. Although the shower’s maximum has been reliably strong for many years, with a peak likely to last for almost a day at fairly similar ZHRs, the bright Moon and some typically dismal northern winter weather globally meant observers almost everywhere struggled to see much of the shower’s best in 2011. However, it has been possible to compile the radio meteor analysis now, which when combined with data from other sources and observing techniques, gives a modest, if incomplete, overview of the near-peak activity.
More visual results were received by the SPA for the Geminids than for most of the other Moon-affected showers during late 2011, albeit many were quite casually made and reported, owing to poor skies across Britain and elsewhere. Even the IMO’s “live” online preliminary visual results were quite patchy, indicating a probable main maximum time near 15h UT on December 14. It has remained unclear how accurate the estimated strongest ZHR of 198 ± 13 then really was, since it is possible the value was inflated thanks to the bright sky. Usually, the ZHR would be around 120-130 or so. The timing fell well within the predicted maximum range based on long-term IMO visual studies, expected to persist from roughly 01h-22h UT on December 14.
Intriguingly, the IMO data also hinted at a possible secondary maximum outside this predicted peak period, around 02h-03h UT on December 15, with ZHRs estimated at ~148 ± 13. Casual reports, and comments based on fireball camera observations in America from Bill Cooke (NASA’s Meteoroids Environment Officer; helpfully forwarded by Rich Taibi), indicated that the Geminids overall appeared to have been significantly brighter on December 14-15 than 13-14. This was not unexpected, as previous studies going back to the 1960s have found mass-sorting of particles to be present within the Geminid meteoroid stream, meaning brighter shower meteors tend to happen predominantly somewhat after the visual peak.
The IMO’s video results for the Geminids (published in “WGN”, 40:2 for 2012 April, pp. 69-75, especially pp. 69-70) found only a single, noticeably sharp, maximum at 03:15 ± 15 minutes UT on December 14. As most of the video results were obtained from Europe, there were large gaps in these as well as the visual data, so uncertainties have remained regarding these seemingly discrepant peak timings. It is worth remembering that many video meteor cameras are quite infra-red sensitive, so can detect a range of meteors from the visual down into the sub-visual. Possibly, the video results indicated something of the “fainter meteors” peak earlier in the likely maximum interval.
Using the available radio meteor data from North America and Europe, the SPA’s radio analysis found most systems sufficiently active and recording accurately favoured the better Geminid rates as having happened on December 13-14, between approximately 23h-09h UT. Although it is difficult to be certain, it seems plausible there were two stronger phases within this time, from about 23h-01h and 03h-05h UT, the latter perhaps very marginally the better-detected. European radio data collected during the period the Geminid radiant was regrettably undetectable for most of the operational North American observers, also indicated a distinct secondary peak during the interval from ~23h-01h UT on December 14-15 (remembering that the radio meteor results are typically given only in one-hour long data-bins). This included peaks in the few longer-duration echo-count results presented, which would tally with the generally brighter Geminids reported visually on the latter night, assuming as we usually do that longer-duration radio echoes equate with brighter meteors. These factors may explain why the IMO visual results favoured a Geminid maximum on December 14-15, while the video data preferred the previous night. As always when we have too little data to work with, we end up with more questions than proper answers!
A list of observers whose data contributed to this report can be found at : forum.popastro.com/viewtopic.php
2011 Leonids
Here is Alastair McBeath’s analysis of the 2011 Leonids:
With the potential for four Leonid maxima in 2011 scattered across November 16 to 18 inclusive, one of which might have produced activity in the low hundreds, albeit all with a problematically bright waning Moon, it was disappointing that weather conditions for SPA watchers globally seemed to have been unusually poor. Even visual reports to the IMO’s online data page for the shower were unhelpfully thin on the ground, with just four datapoints available between ~18h UT on November 14 through to ~00:30 UT on the 20th. At least for once, it wasn’t just Britain’s weather at fault!
These IMO results suggested merely a single Leonid peak had happened, on November 17-18, when ZHRs reached 22 ± 3. Huge gaps in the data meant this result was especially tentative however, and it would have been very easy for any short-lived outburst, no matter how strong, to have passed entirely unseen. IMO video observations proved less helpful too than might have been hoped (presented in “WGN”, 40:1 for 2012 February, on pages 48-52, especially p. 49), where only a single combined datapoint was determined for each night, based largely on European results. They indicated a single peak on November 18-19, apparently with activity still quite good by the following night. Again though, the broad timescale meant large breaks between these reports.
Looking to the radio meteor results collected by the SPA, even these gave incomplete coverage, since with observers based primarily in central-western Europe and western North America, the Leonid radiant was effectively unobservable, because of being below the horizon for all locations, from about 20h-21h until 00h-01h UT daily, a period into which fell three of the four predicted maximum timings. To hunt for what the data did show, a detailed hour-by-hour examination was made of the radio information available from November 16 to 20, concentrating on when the Leonid radiant was observable from each site. No distinct brief maxima were found on any of these dates, but activity probably due to the Leonids seemed to have been somewhat stronger than normal on November 17, between roughly 02h-13h UT, and was at its strongest on November 19 from about 01h-14h UT. (Remembering that these intervals do not show true peaks, but indicate instead the better-detectable daily period for radio Leonid meteors from the two main geographic regions represented.)
Overall, this radio meteor pattern supported the findings of the IMO video observers much better than those from the visual reports, and implied the better shower activity could have occurred on November 18-19, significantly later than any of the advance predictions had anticipated. In all cases, shower rates were apparently fairly unremarkable, which would in turn infer quite typical Leonid ZHRs had taken place, probably of the order of 15-20 or so at best, much as the visual data found. Any further results from elsewhere would be welcomed still to try to plug the gaps and see if anything unusual did happen in time to any of the late-evening-UT peak predictions.
A full list of observers whose observations were used in this analysis can be found at forum.popastro.com/viewtopic.php
2011 Orionids
Here is Alastair McBeath’s analysis of the 2011 Orionids :
The latest IMO video meteor analysis of the shower in 2011 (given as part of the October review in the February 2012 issue of the journal “WGN”, 40:1, pp. 41-47, especially pp. 43 & 46) indicated the video peak was observed on the European night of October 23-24, although activity then was only marginally better than on several previous nights, beginning around October 20-21. This sort of protracted, if variable, maximum is relatively common for the Orionids, albeit the stronger peak happening as late as October 23-24 is unusual. The Organization’s preliminary visual data, now updated but still available online at the address given in my October 24 posting above, suggested shower ZHRs were averaging roughly 25 ± 5 between October 20-21 and 23-24, coincident with the video findings, although the marginally highest ZHR, circa 33 ± 3 had occurred on October 21-22. This was based on relatively few reports, however.
Scarcely any UK observers had much luck in seeing the shower, and although valuable support came from the Section’s overseas contributors, notably in North America and Germany, there was too little data overall to confirm or improve upon the IMO’s visual findings. Unhappily, the radio meteor observers, who don’t have to worry about cloudy skies, struggled at times with interference across the expected best from the Orionids, which created some rather patchy results at times. Even so, it’s been possible to carry out a reasonably useful analysis of such radio data as was collected by the SPA. As quite often happens with this shower, the rise and fall from the radio maximum was relatively gradual, though the fall seemed more marked than the risen this time. Orionid activity was apparently present at fairly similar levels on October 21-22, 22-23 and 24-25, with a curious drop almost to the pre-peak level on October 23-24. Most datasets seemed to favour October 24-25 as producing the strongest response. However, as with both the IMO video and visual reports, the difference to the other better nights was small.
A list of observers whose results contributed to the SPA’s Orionid files were as follows, including reports sent in directly, posted here or on the Orionids topic of the UK Weather World’s Space Weather Forum can be found at : forum.popastro.com/viewtopic.php
2011 Draconids
Much later than I’d originally intended while I was still SPA Meteor Director, I’m now starting to catch-up with the outstanding meteor shower analyses from late 2011, hopefully in roughly chronological order!
Four radio observers provided counts of meteor echoes in shorter periods across the Draconid peak as well, lasting between 5-10 minutes, which allowed a more detailed examination of activity in the hours around the maximum. A direct comparison between the IMO’s visual and the SPA radio results showed again a closely similar pattern, with seemingly even many of the minor fluctuations between individual datapoints found in both sets. The radio information also found activity at or above half the maximum flux had been present from 19:20 to 20:45 UT or so, virtually identical to what the video results showed.
This was naturally a very pleasing outcome, allowing further confirmation of what the earlier analyses had indicated.
In Britain, only a few observers in southern England and the Channel Islands seemed to have had any luck in seeing something of the Draconid outburst, and then often far less than they might have hoped. Elsewhere in mainland Europe, conditions were thankfully often much better.
A full list of observers whose data were included in this analysis can be found on the SPA Forum at forum.popastro.com/viewtopic.php
Alastair McBeath,
Assistant Meteor Director, Society for Popular Astronomy
2012 June 2
2011 Perseids
Fireball Reports 2011 January to June
The following summary has been compiled from Alastair McBeath’s posts on the SPA Forum:
International Meteor Conference 2010 September 16-19
Held in Armagh, Northern Ireland,
A Report for the SPA Meteor Section
This meeting of amateur and professional meteoricists from 24 countries was organised by Armagh Observatory. It was the first-ever International Meteor Conference (IMC) in the UK, and also the first time that I’d attended one. The number of attendees was 127 (easily surpassing the previous record of 94). The age distribution of attendees was better than that that typically seen at meetings of UK astronomy groups too. I would, however, have liked to have seen more attendees from the British mainland.
With a large number of people wishing to speak, each speaker was restricted to 15 minutes (including set up and questions). This had the advantage of ensuring presentations were concise and to the point. All presentations were given in English (I wonder how many British people would be able to give a presentation and answer questions in a foreign language?). Sessions were devoted to optical work, the meteoroid environment, visual observations, radio work, fireballs & ablation, astrometry & trajectories, cultural topics and meteor odds & ends. In addition, there were also Saturday afternoon excursions to Armagh Observatory (including taking part in the Human Orrery) and to the Navan Centre (where the residents of the iron-age dwelling welcomed the “wise people who follow the stars”), plus social sessions in the evenings. The participants enjoyed the meteor song and solar system Irish dance performed by local children during a coffee break too!
Presentations included:
- Bill Cooke (NASA) describing how amateur observations are used to calibrate meteoroid flux predictions, covering particle sizes ranging from those capable of penetrating spacesuits up to those with potential to cause a loss of the Space Shuttle. He highlighted how the Landsat-5 satellite was sent tumbling on 2009 August 13 by an event which coincided with that year’s third Perseid peak, although, somewhat embarrassingly, none of the published Perseid predictions for 2009 had included the third peak.
- Pete Gural giving an overview of the NASA-funded California All-sky Meteor Surveillance (CAMS) system that is being developed to investigate the belief that 85% of the zodiacal cloud is derived from now defunct comets.
- Praksh Atreya giving an overview of the French Meteor Network (PODET-NET).
- Gerhard Drolshagen reporting on ESA’s investigations relating to meteoroid populations, ranging from infra-red (IR) studies of the zodiacal light, through to lunar crater sizes and, more directly, through studies of impact crater sizes in the Hubble Space Telescope solar arrays returned by NASA.
- Detlef Koschny describing the development of the Virtual Meteor Observatory – a database of 30 000 video-recorded meteors – and illustrated how this has provided improved statistics on shower meteor start heights.
- Jürgen Rendtel reporting the results of an analysis of more than ten years of video-recorded meteors for the period August 23-October 29. This has resulted in revisions to the dates of maxima and radiant locations for several of the minor showers active during this period.
- Abedin Abedin explaining how numerical modelling had been used to follow the fragments of Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 (which showed 5 fragments in 1995 and more than 70 fragments in 2006) back in time.
- Jérémie Vaubaillon reporting that various analyses for the 2011 Draconids indicated peak activity will occur (sometime) between 19h and 21h UT on October 8th, favouring observers at European longitudes. The peak ZHR is likely to be measured in the hundreds, but is unlikely to reach storm level.
- Megan Argo describing a low-cost public outreach activity started at Jodrell Bank in late 2006 to record meteors using the forward-scatter technique from a transmitter in Spain … and how the digital switchover has recently necessitated a switch to another transmitter.
- Jean-Louis Rault summarising the various types of meteor echoes (“Epsilons, Cs, Corkscrews and Co”) detected at radio wavelengths by members of the Belgian VVS meteor observing group. He later combined many of these to produce a short “musical” composition during the traditional Saturday evening cultural session.
- Casper ter Kuile giving a report on the expedition to Sudan to recover fragments from the break-up in the atmosphere of asteroid 2008TC3. Fortunately this had fallen in the north of Sudan rather than the less stable southern part of the country. Around 10kg of material (more than 250 pieces) has been recovered to date.
- Felix Bettonvil suggesting a design for an ‘optimal’ amateur all-sky camera, costing less than 1000 Euros and balancing the needs of astrometry, photometry & velocity determination.
- Anna Kartashova outlining how (using some rather complex equations!) to derive celestial coordinates of meteor events registered by TV systems.
- Eliska Anna Kubickova reporting the results of attempts to use “computer vision” to search for meteors in images. Although there were some cases of spurious identification, around 80% of meteors were successfully detected.
- David Cullen outlining a proposed mission to generate hypervelocity meteoroids by sending particles of known mass and composition on a lunar free return trajectory – this could be one component of an ESA medium-sized mission opportunity.
- Damir Segon describing how astrometry often seems to overestimate the speed of very bright meteors, leading to a larger than expected scatter in calculated semi-major axes. Inspection of individual video frames often shows asymmetry in the heads of such meteors, which may be partly due to effects within the optical system.
- David Asher & John McFarland giving an overview of the work of E J Öpik. Öpik had worked from Arizona in the 1930s to record large numbers of meteor images, which he subsequently analysed when working at Armagh in order to calculate their orbits.
- Mike Simms giving an overview of the three 20th century Irish meteorite falls at Crumlin (1902), Bovedy (1969) and Leighlinbridge (1999). Analyses indicated that all three meteorites were originally part of planetoids that had been large enough for melting and differentiation to have occurred. Compositions suggested the Bovedy meteorite was derived from near-surface material, whereas the other two were from deeper levels.
- Apostolos Christou describing the Armagh Observatory meteor cameras. This system has been in operation for 5 years from sites at Armagh and Bangor (NI). In 16 250 hours of operation (averaging 3 hours usable sky per night), this has recorded 6309 single station meteors and 1281 double station meteors of which 53 were fireballs of magnitude –4 or brighter, 25 of which were associated with meteor showers.
- Sylvain Bouley outlining the development of an international network to monitor lunar meteoroid impacts between last quarter and first quarter lunar phases. Flashes recorded to date have been in the magnitude range +3 to +10 – the latter limit is surprising since the equipment used is capable of detecting fainter flashes.
- Attendees from Venezuela, India and Nepal describing their attempts to encourage meteor observing in their respective countries.
- Nagatoshi Nogami providing a translation of a meteorite poem from ancient China.
- Rainer Arlt suggesting possible areas for future work, including monitoring for meteors in the 8-10 micron IR window and investigating radio radiation from meteors. There is also a desire to encourage more meteor observing from Africa.
- Mark Gyssens giving an overview of the IMO membership and finances. Although there was the inevitable dip after the Leonid storm years, membership has since increased from 192 in 2005 to 244 in 2009, and is now 261. The IMO is now offering an electronic-only subscription. Members who choose to receive WGN electronically benefit from a 5 Euro reduction in their subscription.
In summary, I would say that I very much enjoyed the meeting. It was a great opportunity to meet many people who I had previously only known by name. I would recommend future IMC meetings to anyone who is able to attend.
Tony Markham, SPA Meteor Section Assistant Director
Tony Markham is a long-time SPA member and contributor to the work of the Meteor Section. He became an Assistant Director to the Meteor Section in the early autumn of 2010. He also formerly directed the SPA’s Variable Star Section
Many of the IMC presentations are available online via the special IMC 2010 website. Photos of the event and other notes are also available via the IMC 2010 homepage.
Fireball Sightings 2010
Fireball reports, especially those made from the British Isles and nearby areas, are always welcomed by the SPA Meteor Section. See the Making and Reporting Fireball Observations page on this website for details of what to record on seeing a fireball, where and how to report your data.
Below is a list of some of the fireballs reported to the Section from 2010. It mainly consists of those events seen away from the major meteor shower maxima (when fireballs are more common), unless the objects were not part of the meteor shower in question, or were particularly impressive. A “*” in the ‘Magnitude and Notes’ column indicates further details are given below the table.
An exciting development for Britain during the second half of 2010 was the creation of an all-sky fireball camera system by the University of Hertfordshire. The first camera was set up at the University’s observatory at Bayfordbury in Hertfordshire during 2009 October, and was run on a trial basis from 2009 November to 2010 May. A special report on its successes, including the early meteor captures, is available via the Herts University link above. Additional cameras were added at Hemel Hempstead (Herts) in 2010 July, and near Niton (Isle of Wight) and Cromer (Norfolk) in August. Several single-station Perseid fireballs were captured during 2010 August, and a two-station one on August 10-11, but the first major success for the system as a whole was the recording of a fireball from three stations on September 5-6. (A computer fault meant the data were lost from Hemel Hempstead, unfortunately including details on the meteor’s velocity and duration.) See also this General Chat Forum topic. We are happy to include details of this system here because it has helped confirm some of the fireballs reported to us by other, often visual, witnesses, and is referred to frequently in the notes on this page, often thanks to assistance from the system’s operator and analyst, David Campbell, to whom goes both gratitude, and hope for still more successes in future!
Date | Time (UT) | Magnitude and Notes | Observed from |
10/01/8-9 | 01:07 +/- 2m | Very bright* | Somerset |
10/01/16-17 | ~22:45 | Bright; 3 reports* | Wirral & Shropshire |
10/01/23-24 | 19:40 | Bright | Co Antrim |
10/01/24-25 | 20:51 | -8; multiple reports; imaged* | W & N France |
10/01/26-27 | 22:37 | -4 | Hertfordshire |
10/01/30-31 | 20:45 | Bright | Wiltshire |
10/02/3-4 | ~17:55-18:00 | -6/-9?; multiple reports* | Ireland & N Ireland |
10/02/3-4 | ~19:30-19:40 | Fainter than -5?; several reports* | Ireland |
10/02/12-13 | 21:13 +/- 5m | -6/-11?; 3 reports* | Staffs, Lincs & Co Durham |
10/02/15-16 | 21:57 | >-13? | Stirlingshire |
10/02/17-18 | 22:37 | Bright | Co Donegal |
10/03/08 | ~14:25 | Brilliant; in daylight | Liverpool |
10/03/21-22 | 20:05 | Very bright; 2 reports* | Guernsey |
10/03/21-22 | ~22:00 | Very bright; 6 reports* | Guernsey & Jersey |
10/04/6-7 | 03:17 | -7 | Edinburgh |
10/04/9-10 | 20:15 +/- 5m | -10?; 2 reports | Glasgow & Edinburgh |
10/04/11-12 | ~04:25 | Brilliant | Cornwall |
10/04/14-15 | 21:31 | -5/-7 | Gwent |
10/04/16-17 | ~21:30-21:45 | -5?* | Kent |
10/04/16-17 | 21:58-22:00 | Very bright; green; 8 reports* | S England & NW France |
10/04/16-17 | 22:00-22:03 | Bright; green; 2 reports* | Norfolk |
10/04/16-17 | ~23:55 | Bright; green* | Hertfordshire |
10/04/17-18 | ~23:00 | Bright; green-white | Gloucestershire |
10/04/23-24 | ~22:00 | -3* | Suffolk |
10/04/27-28 | 20:15 +/- 10m | Very bright; 3 reports* | S England |
10/05/14-15 | 01:20 | Bright; 2 reports; imaged* | Warwickshire & Netherlands |
10/05/16-17 | 01:20 | Very bright; in clouds | E Sussex |
10/05/24-25 | 23:28 | -8 | Berkshire |
10/05/25-26 | 22:05 | Bright | Hampshire |
10/05/28-29 | ~22:30 | Bright; 2 reports | Co Cork & Gwynedd |
10/06/16-17 | ~00:01 | Bright; very slow* | Northamptonshire |
10/06/17-18 | ~03:30 | -4 | Surrey |
10/06/28-29 | 23:00 +/- 3m | Bright; flared twice | Gwynedd |
10/06/29-30 | 23:07 | Very bright | Conwy |
10/06/29-30 | ~00:30 | Bright | Ceredigion |
10/07/13-14 | ~20:30 | Brilliant* | Guernsey |
10/07/13-14 | ~21:00 | -9; 3 reports* | S England |
10/07/18-19 | 22:16 | Brighter than -5; 3 reports; imaged* | E England & Netherlands |
10/07/20-21 | ~22:05 | Very bright | Carmarthenshire |
10/07/27-28 | 02:04 | Very bright; sonic booms? | Lincolnshire |
10/07/28-29 | 23:58 | -7/-9?; fragmented | Cornwall |
10/08/4-5 | 21:10 | Bright; 2 reports | Shrops & Hants |
10/08/4-5 | ~22:00 | Very bright; 2 reports | W Midlands |
10/08/7-8 | 21:40 | -5/-6; 2 reports | Wilts & Oxon |
10/08/7-8 | 01:16 | -9; probable SDA | Denbighshire |
10/08/10-11 | ~20:15 | Bright; non-PER | Wiltshire |
10/08/10-11 | 22:07 +/- 8m | -4/-7; CAP?; 4 reports | Bucks, Beds, London & Wrexham |
10/08/10-11 | 00:42 | Brighter than -6; PER; 4 reports; imaged* | SE England & Isle of Wight |
10/08/10-11 | 01:20 +/- 1m | Very bright; PER; imaged* | Isle of Wight |
10/08/12-13 | 21:43 +/- 1m | -8/-12; PER; 5 reports; imaged* | Central-southern England |
10/08/14-15 | ~04:00 | Bright | Cumbria |
10/08/15-16 | 02:56 +/- 1m | Bright; imaged* | Isle of Wight |
10/08/23-24 | ~20:00 | Bright | Lincolnshire |
10/08/29-30 | 23:30-23:40 | Bright | Manchester |
10/08/30-31 | 23:22 | Bright | London |
10/08/30-31 | ~02:30 | Very bright | W Midlands |
10/09/4-5 | 23:27 | -5 | Somerset |
10/09/5-6 | 00:39 | Bright; multiple images* | S Britain & Netherlands |
10/09/8-9 | ~23:00 | Bright | Hampshire |
10/09/15-16 | 18:45 | Full Moon brightness | Dorset |
10/09/15-16 | 20:05 | Bright; in clouds | N Somerset |
10/09/17-18 | 00:55 | Bright; 3 reports; imaged* | Lincs, Norfolk & Essex |
10/09/25-26 | ~21:25 | Bright | Fife |
10/09/25-26 | ~05:00 | Bright | Northamptonshire |
10/10/2-3 | 23:38 | -7? | Warwickshire |
10/10/9-10 | 01:32 | Very bright; imaged* | Northern Ireland |
10/10/11-12 | 03:44 | Very bright; 2 reports; imaged* | Herts & Netherlands |
10/10/12-13 | 21:03 +/- 1m | Bright; imaged* | Isle of Wight |
10/10/15-16 | 01:06:19 | Very bright; ORI?; 2 reports; imaged* | Herts & Isle of Wight |
10/10/16-17 | ~00:20 | Brilliant | Aberdeenshire |
10/10/19-20 | 03:20:49 | Bright; ORI; 2 reports; imaged* | Herts & Isle of Wight |
10/10/19-20 | ~06:55 | Brilliant; near sunrise; 2 reports* | Argyll & Cumbria |
10/10/20-21 | 03:54:00 | Very bright; ORI; 2 reports; imaged* | Herts & Isle of Wight |
10/10/24-25 | 03:20 | Very bright; terminal flare* | Edinburgh |
10/11/0-1 | 06:25 | -6; green-white | Anglesey |
10/11/6-7 | ~23;40 | Very bright; seen from indoors | Ross-shire |
10/11/7-8 | ~17:30 | Bright* | Hampshire |
10/11/7-8 | 18:05 +/- 2m | -8; 3 reports* | Hants, Middx & Wilts |
10/11/11-12 | ~19:00 | Bright; fragmented* | Hampshire |
10/11/11-12 | 21:58 | Very bright; 3 reports; imaged* | S & E England & Netherlands |
10/11/13-14 | 00:21 | -5; orange; fragmented | Gwynedd |
10/11/14-15 | 18:20 | Very bright; orange* | N Lanarkshire |
10/11/14-15 | 04:55-05:00 | Very bright; 2 reports* | W Yorks & Somerset |
10/11/14-15 | ~05:40 | Very bright; 24 reports* | Scotland & N England |
10/11/15-16 | 17:12 +/- 5m | -5/-12; 29 reports* | Scotland, England & Wales |
10/11/15-16 | ~04:00 | Brighter than -3; green | London |
10/11/15-16 | 05:00-05:15 | -6?; fragmented; 2 reports* | Staffs & Oxon |
10/11/19 | 08:09-08:10 | -6/-8; in daylight; 8 reports* | S England |
10/11/23-24 | 21:20 | Brighter than -3; yellow-white | Warwickshire |
10/11/25-26 | ~19:00 | Very bright; colourful; terminal burst* | Oxfordshire |
10/11/27-28 | ~00:00 | Bright | Staffordshire |
10/11/27-28 | 02:10 | Brilliant; seen from indoors* | Devon |
10/11/28-29 | 17:42 +/- 5m | -9/-14; 48 reports* | Western British Isles |
10/11/28-29 | ~20:00 | Very bright; 2 reports* | Cos. Armagh & Derry |
10/11/28-29 | 22:26 | -3; very long; left sparks | Hampshire |
10/12/5-6 | ~19:20 | Very bright | Co. Durham |
10/12/8-9 | 17:36 +/- 5m | -8/-11; 76 reports; imaged* | Scotland, England & Wales |
10/12/9-10 | ~15:45 | Bright; near sunset* | W Midlands |
10/12/9-10 | ~19:00 | Bright | Hertfordshire |
10/12/9-10 | ~20:38 | -6/-8; 5 reports; imaged* | S England |
10/12/10-11 | 16:30 | Bright; green | Somerset |
10/12/12-13 | 23:35 | Very bright; blue; flare; GEM? | Midlothian |
10/12/14-15 | 19:08 | -4; GEM? | Kent |
10/12/14-15 | ~22:00 | Very bright* | Devon |
10/12/14-15 | 06:13 | Bright; GEM? | Hampshire |
10/12/21-22 | 21:15 | Very bright; seen from indoors | Perthshire |
10/12/23-24 | 07:20 | Bright; fragmented | E Lothian |
The initial, brief, information on the January 8-9 fireball was on the UK Weather World’s Space Weather Forum.
Two of the three observations of the January 16-17 fireball came from the Wirral peninsula, where the meteor passed almost overhead, and information provided by the lucky witnesses has allowed an approximate atmospheric trajectory to be established for this event, as shown on the accompanying sketch-map by the red arrowed line. It probably flew above parts of north Wales and northern England, on a roughly WSW to ENE track, and was almost grazing the atmosphere, producing a long visible trajectory. The start could not be well-established, but assuming a height of between ~120-100 km altitude suggested the fireball may have first become visible over Caernarfon Bay, about 35 km off the northern Lleyn Peninsula coast of Gwynedd, (likely near 52.9°N, 5.1°W for a ~120 km altitude start – beginning of the dashed line – or 53°N, 4.8°W for a ~100 km start – beginning of the solid line). From there, it passed over the extreme north of mainland Wales, from roughly Caernarfon to Point of Ayr, then across the mouth of the Dee to the northern tip of the Wirral in northwest England (plausibly between West Kirby to Birkenhead), above the Mersey, Liverpool (likely a little south of the city centre) and the Pennines of the Lancs-Yorks border northeast of Manchester-Oldham, and somewhat south of Leeds, to end around 75 km altitude near Mickletown on the River Aire, midway between Castleford and Rothwell southeast of Leeds (above approximately 53.7°N, 1.4°W). Assuming this trajectory was correct would imply the entry angle was very shallow, between ~6° to ~11° from the horizontal, giving an atmospheric path length from ~246 to ~269 km. The observers (red dots) estimated the meteor was visible from 5 to 8 seconds, whose average (~6.5 seconds) indicated an atmospheric velocity, not allowing for deceleration, of ~38-41 km/sec, so about medium-speed on the 11 to 72 km/sec atmospheric velocity scale for meteors. The outlying range for this rough velocity would have been ~31-54 km/sec. Some fragmentation along the path was seen, with the colours noted as mainly yellow or white. The very high end height and the significant fragmentation would both count against any meteorites surviving and being recovered, while the shallow approach-angle made it almost impossible to define where any such falls could have happened; perhaps into the eastern North Sea, the Baltic, or nearby parts of southern Scandinavia, as a best-guess. No reports of any such falls were received, however.
![]() 2010 January 16-17 ~22:45 UT Fireball Path |
French meteor expert Karl Antier reported the January 24-25 fireball was caught on video from France. The video can be accessed from the appropriate link here. The meteor was seen to the south of Le Havre in northern France, so might have been spotted from southern England too. No UK sightings of it were received, however.
Information regarding the February 3-4 fireballs was somewhat confused, and there may have been three separate events seen from Ireland and/or Northern Ireland before 20h UT that evening. Much of the information came from media reports, suggesting there were “hundreds” of sightings, though a mere three actual observations arrived, plus news that Irish coastguards were alerted after witnesses called-in from four places, some well inland, scattered across central and southwest Ireland. One report each around the earlier timing came from Co Armagh in Northern Ireland, and a little south of Dublin’s city centre in the Irish Republic. The Co Armagh observer saw the object in the northwest to north-northwest sky, while the near-Dublin observer saw the fireball pass behind buildings to the north-northeast, at a similar elevation above the horizon to what the Armagh witness reported for the meteor’s start point. If correct, they would indicate the sightings must have been of different meteors. In turn, that might suggest there were two fireballs, one off northwest Ireland/Northern Ireland, the other off eastern Northern Ireland/northeast Ireland, the neighbouring Irish Sea, or adjacent parts of western Britain, between roughly 17:55-18:00 UT. A further, definitely separate, event, around 19:30-19:40 UT was reported as apparently fainter than the earlier meteor(s), but almost no information other than this reached the Section about it. An initial note was posted on the SPA’s Observing Forum. A fuller discussion, complete with the initial near-Dublin sighting, and ~19:35 UT meteor information, plus other media links, can be found on the UK Weather World’s Space Weather Forum. Claims of a video recording of the ~18h fireball proved false, as this was imaged in 2008 apparently, and in some places online, it was seemingly shown in reverse anyway.
The February 12-13 fireball may have flown high above parts of NW England and/or N Wales, perhaps on a roughly NE-SW trajectory, but it was not possible to define this more exactly. The Staffordshire report can be seen on the UK Weather World’s Space Weather Forum.
Most of the sightings from the Channel Islands on March 21-22 came in the form of brief media reports and online comments only, and the information was not always clear from these as to where some observers were, or what time their sightings were made. Fireball reports reaching the Meteor Section directly from that night suggested there were at least two separate meteors involved, one at 20:05 UT, the other around 22:00, with most people having apparently witnessed the later event. Information on where the objects may have overflown was rather sketchy. The 20:05 fireball may have moved roughly north to south, perhaps over the Cotentin Peninsula, or the southern Channel east of there and over other parts of Normandy in northern France. The ~22:00 meteor may have passed from somewhere east of Jersey to south of that island. Witness’ notes on the events that evening are available on media webpages from Guernsey and Jersey, but note that the media sources, and most early comments, were based on the belief just a single event was involved.
Reports from the witnesses of the April 9-10 fireball suggested the object may have followed a roughly south to north trajectory over eastern Scotland north of the Fife peninsula, perhaps across part of the eastern Grampian Mountains of the “Aberdeen angle”, or the North Sea offshore of there.
Two of the initial sightings of the April 16-17, ~22:00 UT event can be found on the UK Weather World’s Space Weather Forum. That fireball seemed to have been out high above the western Channel, and part of its flight may have been some way offshore of the English coast between roughly Prawle Point in Devon and Lizard Point in Cornwall. Most observers were impressed both by its brilliance and its vivid green colour, though suggestions the colour (and those of the other green fireballs reported that week, assuming all were separate events) may have been due to the thin volcanic ash cloud over and near the British Isles from Iceland at the time, seem to have been without foundation. Bright green, though not common, does occur in meteors, particularly the brighter ones, without any such assistance. The apparently similar fireball around 22h UT seen from Norfolk was reported as observed to the east-southeast from there, and if so, it must have been a different meteor. The ~21:30-21:45 UT event was seen to the northwest, heading north from Kent, so again was clearly a separate fireball. Preliminary notes on the 23:55 UT meteor can be found on the SPA’s Observing Forum.
Notes from the witness of the April 23-24 fireball can be found among the comments regarding the April 16-17 fireballs on the SPA’s Observing Forum.
One of the reports on the April 27-28 fireball suggested an associated sonic boom may have been heard from Shropshire, while the others indicated the object had fragmented during its flight. No information regarding its possible trajectory could be established unfortunately, but if the sonic boom was linked to the meteor, it may have passed over or near southern Shropshire.
The May 14-15 fireball seen from Britain was probably the same as that imaged from the Netherlands by the all-sky fireball camera of Klaas Jobse at Oostkapelle. Red and green colours were recorded visually and on Klaas’ image, for instance. Further investigation suggested the fireball may have flown on a roughly southeast to northwest trajectory above East Anglia, possibly from a point around 90-100 km altitude above central-northern Essex, somewhere from ~10 km south of Colchester to ~20 km west of that city. The last imaged point on the trail, which was almost certainly not the true end, could have been 10 km or so south of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, at an altitude of ~50 km. Extrapolating from these rough estimates could imply the true end was maybe 45 +/- 5 km altitude above a point ~20 km northwest of Peterborough. Taking these values as approximately correct would compute to an atmospheric path length for the fireball between ~120-125 km, descending at an angle of 20°-30° from the horizontal. The visual observer’s estimate for the event’s duration of three to four seconds inferred an atmospheric velocity for the event, not allowing for deceleration, of ~35 +/- 7 km/sec, thus about medium-speed. These parameters, while merely best-estimates, fitted plausibly within the expected ranges for fireball-class meteors. There is no evidence to suggest a meteorite fall happened following this meteor, but continuing the estimated trajectory to the surface might have suggested an arrival zone roughly on or east of a line from about Nottingham north-northwest to the Leeds area.
A description of the June 16-17 fireball can be found on the Observing Forum.
Though there were similarities between them, and some uncertainty in their timings, it is probable the two July 13-14 fireballs were separate events. That seen from Guernsey was likely high above the Channel, perhaps above the western part of Lyme Bay, or possibly the adjacent parts of Devon. The ~21h UT event was witnessed from Kent, Somerset and Wiltshire, and it too may have happened over the Channel, probably off or over the Dorset coast. It may have been travelling in a direction between roughly E-W to SE-NW, and its path likely fell within about 60 km of a point above the sea ~10-20 km south of Lulworth Cove, Dorset. Its start altitude could have been ~115 +/- 10 km, but the end was too poorly-constrained to suggest a more plausible height range.
The July 18-19 fireball was seen from two separate sites in Suffolk. It was imaged by Klaas Jobse’s automated all-sky camera system at Oostkapelle in the Netherlands, part of the European Fireball Network of camera stations, and by the all-sky Bayfordbury camera belonging to the University of Hertfordshire. The images were quite faint, and Klaas provided an enlarged inset of his, showing the trail in more detail. It was not possible to determine a particularly accurate trajectory for the event, though the probable south to north path may have lain between 100 to 70 km altitude above the southern North Sea, perhaps 35-40 km offshore of the Suffolk coast of East Anglia, as a best-estimate.
August 10-11, at 00:42 UT, brought the Hertfordshire University’s first multi-station fireball capture, a brilliant Perseid, with both the Hemel Hempstead and Niton cameras recording it – despite rain on the lens at Hemel! More famously, it was also caught on video by Peter Meadows in Essex, though the fireball ended off the field of view, an image which has been reproduced in various places since. The video is available on YouTube at six frames per second and one frame per second, and shows the fireball’s persistent train, which remained visible on video for three minutes! A visual observer in Surrey was reported in the 2010 SeptemberThe Astronomermagazine (p. 127) as having seen it detonate in the Square of Pegasus with an iridescent blue-green colour, and confirmed the persistent train was visible with the unaided eye for three to four minutes (with thanks to TA’s Meteor Editor Tony Markham for providing the latter information). Herts University analyst David Campbell was able to derive a trajectory for the meteor as well, showing it flew on a roughly northeast to southwest track high above western Kent to East Sussex. A map of the projected surface track and copies of the three main fireball images can be found in our Report on the 2010 Perseids.
The Herts University camera at Niton caught the ~01:20 UT fireball on August 10-11 too, another excellently bright Perseid, which is also shown in our Report on the 2010 Perseids.
One probable and one possible sighting of the brilliant August 12-13 Perseid fireball can be found on the “Perseids 2010” Observing Forum topic, reported by “UtopiaPlanitia” just northwest of London (posting timed at 22:51 BST on August 12; the automatic time-stamps appeared to be inaccurate compared to actual clock time) and “@@” in the West Midlands (22:13 BST on August 12) respectively. The other lucky visual observers were in Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. As usual near the Perseid maximum, few people kept a detailed record of precisely where in the sky any fireballs appeared, but assuming the four more probable reports were of the same meteor, it would likely have flown on a roughly NE to SW trajectory high above the Derbyshire-Staffordshire-Shropshire area, or points adjacent. The Hemel Hempstead camera of the Hertfordshire University’s system managed to image it too, if a little weakly. Another 40 UK Perseid fireball reports were received from meteor watches carried out between August 9-10 and 15-16 inclusive, which are not listed here.
A final 2010 Perseid image by the Niton camera belonging to the University of Hertfordshire was captured on August 15-16.
Information calculated from the triangulated trail for the September 5-6 meteor indicated it passed on an ESE-WNW track (the trail heading was towards 275° azimuth), starting at 103 km altitude nearly above Chelmsford in Essex, and ending at 81 km altitude almost above Hertford, just 9 km ENE of the Herts University Bayfordbury camera station! The trail length was 46 km, descending at an angle to the horizontal of 29° (data kindly provided by Hertfordshire University analyst David Campbell). The following links are to the three Herts system images: Bayfordbury, Niton and Cromer (where the trail is just visible slipping into the tree at the bottom). David Campbell also reported the meteor had been imaged by the Cambridge University Institute of Astronomy’s all-sky camera and by Paul Beesken’s all-sky video camera. The trail was recorded too by our old friend Klaas Jobse from Oostkapelle in the Netherlands, and it may have been seen by a lucky witness in near-coastal West Sussex as well.
The Herts University camera at Cromer captured part of the September 17-18 fireball’s image, though the end was outside the camera’s field of view.
Apostolus Christou of Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland reported the imaging of a very bright fireball on October 9-10 by the Observatory’s specialist meteor cameras. Visual sightings were forwarded from other places in the province to Armagh, all of which suggested the object probably passed high over NW Ireland, ending perhaps around 70-80 km altitude. The atmospheric entry velocity was estimated at between 20-30 km/sec. While proposed as a possible Draconid from its general direction of travel, such an atmospheric entry velocity may have been slightly too high, given that the Draconids’ atmospheric velocity tends to average only ~20 km/sec. For more details, including an image, see the SPA’s General Chat Forum.
Another multi-station fireball success for the University of Hertfordshire’s all-sky camera system was reported by analyst David Campbell from the morning of October 11-12. The Bayfordbury, Herts camera caught a spectacular shot of the meteor despite thin clouds. Although regrettably the other three Hertfordshire University cameras seem to have missed it, veteran all-sky imager Klaas Jobse in the Netherlands at Oostkapelle captured the meteor using his fireball system too. David Campbell reported that an approximate triangulation using both images suggested the meteor was travelling northeastwards high above Sussex.
The Herts University’s Niton camera recorded the October 12-13 fireball.
Hertfordshire University enjoyed further multi-station successes during the 2010 Orionids. The first of three events was a possible Orionid on October 15-16, caught at Bayfordbury (despite some rain on the lens) and Niton. Details of the calculated trajectory included a map and height diagram, with the meteor having passed above the Channel southwest of Isle of Wight, on a roughly ESE-WNW track, ending some way south of The Needles. Trajectory details and maps for the projected surface tracks for all three triangulated potential Orionids, with copies of the images, can be found in our Report on the 2010 Orionids.
The second Herts University triangulated fireball during the Orionids was a probable Orionid on October 19-20 at 03:20 UT, again captured at Bayfordbury and Niton. This object’s trajectory was entirely over land, as it shot generally SSE-NNW above western West Sussex and eastern Hampshire. Trajectory details and maps for the projected surface tracks for all three triangulated potential Orionids, with copies of the images, can be found in our Report on the 2010 Orionids.
A few hours later, around or soon after sunrise on the morning of October 20, a notably brilliant event occurred for NW Britain. The meteor seemed to have been moving on a roughly west to east track, and was likely high above Northern Ireland, the North Channel-Firth of Clyde area and probably the adjacent land of southwest Scotland, though no more accurate trajectory could be estimated for it.
A final triangulated Orionid for the Hertfordshire University cameras was on October 20-21, recorded at Hemel Hempstead and Niton (despite some clouds). This event was entirely above the Channel, a long way south of Beachy Head, trending generally SSE-NNW, as demonstrated on the trajectory’s webpage. Trajectory details and maps for the projected surface tracks for all three triangulated potential Orionids, with copies of the images, can be found in our Report on the 2010 Orionids.
The initial report of the October 24-25 fireball can be found on the SPA’s General Chat Forum.
There may have been two separate bright fireballs seen from sites in southern England on the early evening of November 7-8. The first, probably around 17:30 UT, was seen to the west from the south coast near Portsmouth, moving roughly south to north. The second, observed from three places and timed to within a couple of minutes either side of 18:05 UT, was seen to the south from Middlesex, heading southeastwards from there, so must have been a different object. Both fireballs were relatively slow-moving/long-lasting, each remaining visible for up to five seconds, with the earlier event described as yellow-white in colour, the later blue-white or orange. All the observers of the ~18:05 meteor noted it as having fragmented later in its flight, producing red-orange pieces. Taking the approximate directions of motion as correct would suggest both were likely sporadics, and the early evening hours are statistically the time of day when most sporadic fireballs happen. (This seems to be a real effect, rather than that more people tend to be outdoors at the start of the night than later.) The initial Wiltshire sighting and some additional comments on both meteors can be found on the Observing Forum.
A brief note on the ~19h UT fireball on November 11-12 first appeared among the online discussions regarding the fireballs of November 15 (see below) on the UK Weather World’s Space Weather Forum (see the posting by “Lex Ray” from November 15). A later fireball, vaguely stated as having occurred only “in the early hours” of November 12, was reported from Dundee on the BBC News’ website discussion of events on November 15. Its magnitude could have been around -5 to -9, and it was described as blue-green in colour.
Another impressive fireball was caught by the University of Hertfordshire’s all-sky camera at Cromer, at 21:58 UT on November 11-12. Though no other cameras in the network captured this event, it was also imaged by Klaas Jobse operating his European Fireball Network camera from the Netherlands. Klaas’ image showed the fireball as green-blue in colour. The Hertfordshire University analyst David Campbell indicated the event was high over the North Sea off the English coast, heading roughly northwest, so towards Britain. He also noted that the fireball’s persistent train was visible on the next two successive frames taken by the Cromer camera. As each exposure lasted two minutes, that could imply the train remained visible to the camera for more than three to four minutes. An animation of the three images is the best way to view the mist-like train and see how it drifted with time, while the individual train images are here and here. Two lucky visual witnesses at the same place in Buckinghamshire seemed to have spotted the fireball visually too, from indoors! More comments on this event, with a cut-down animation of the fireball and its train are on the Observing Forum.
Several fireball sightings from November 14-15 and 15-16 came to light as part of the online discussions regarding the two more widely-seen events on November 15, which latter are detailed separately below. These sightings included those on November 14-15, at 18:20 (e-mail note by “Chris, Cumbernauld” on the BBC News webpage), and one of the 04:55-05:00 reports (from “Shaun, Taunton, Somerset”, also on the BBC News webpage), plus both sightings from 05:00-05:15 UT on November 15-16 (postings by “Halo” and “corrdog” on November 16 among the UK Weather World’s Space Weather Forum notices).
The first of the widely-observed fireballs on November 15 occurred around 05:40 UT on November 14-15. It was reported from places all across mainland Scotland, between Moffat in Dumfries & Galloway north to Durness on the north Highland coast, and from Prestwick by the Ayrshire coast in the west to near Peterhead in Aberdeenshire on the east, as well as in northern England, south as far as the southern shores of Morecambe Bay, Lancashire. A possible 25th report of this meteor was made from Derbyshire too, but this could not be confirmed. Unfortunately, few people were able to provide details on where the object had appeared in the sky for them, so the information derived on where the meteor flew over could be determined only tentatively. However, its visible flight may have begun high above the North Channel, off The Rhins peninsula of western Dumfries & Galloway, or over north to eastern Northern Ireland. It seemed to have headed roughly north from there, and may have ended above Easter Ross in Highland or somewhere further north, perhaps over the sea. The path may have been angled quite shallowly to the surface, which potentially near-grazing trajectory could have helped account for the long track, possibly more than 350 km. Seven observers reported definite fragmentation occurred, probably quite late in the flight, into up to four main pieces and a lot of smaller ones resembling sparks. Not everyone confirmed this, in some cases because the late flight was unobserved, but in others, likely because the observing angle to the trail concealed the fragmentation event(s). Various colours were reported for the main meteor, with most people who noted them (47%) favouring white, followed by green (18%), orange (17%), yellow (12%), and red (6%). Colours in the fireball’s tail, where different to the head and possibly including the fragments in some cases, were yellow, orange and red (29% each) or green (13%). Many of the initial sightings came from messages posted to the BBC News webpage for the November 15 fireballs. Further early discussion and links can be found among postings to the SPA’s “Leonids 2010” Observing Forum topic, and also on the UK Weather World’s Space Weather Forum.
Less than twelve hours later, the second widely-reported UK fireball happened on the early evening of November 15-16, around 17:12 UT. Sightings came from across much of England, south Wales and central to northern Scotland, from Somerset and Surrey in the south to the Black Isle of eastern Highland in the north. Although more people than for the ~05:40 meteor were able to give information on where the object had appeared in the sky, no consensus was found on where the fireball may have been in the atmosphere from these details. However, its start was plausibly high above northwest England, probably over south-central Cumbria, perhaps around the Kendal-Windermere area or nearby. It seemed to have followed a generally east to west trending path from there, or one closer to ENE to WSW, to a likely end-point above the Irish Sea off the Lancashire-Cumbria coasts, or over the Isle of Man. Taking the atmospheric path-length as roughly 100-120 km, and the average estimated total visible flight time (12 reports) as 2.3 seconds, suggested an atmospheric velocity, not allowing for deceleration, of ~43-52 km/sec, so about fast-medium speed on the typical meteor scale, if correct. Nobody reported seeing any significant fragmentation. Its peak brightness was probably in the magnitude range -8 to -12, or a little brighter. The colours reported included white and green (32% each), blue (18%), orange (11%) and yellow (7%). Again, some of the initial sightings with additional comments and discussion can be found via the three web-links given for the November 14-15, ~05:40 UT event above.
The daylight fireball of November 19 may have had a roughly WNW to ESE path high above Warwickshire-Leicestershire to perhaps the Cambridgeshire-Essex-Suffolk region of East Anglia. No more accurate trajectory could be established, unfortunately. If the meteor’s path was very approximately 150 km long, the average visible time for the fireball’s flight of 3.7 seconds would have suggested an atmospheric velocity, not allowing for deceleration, of ~40 km/sec, so about medium speed for a meteor. Colours reported were predominantly white, sometimes with green or blue. Definite observations of this event were made from Bucks, Beds, Oxon, west and south London and Hants. A ninth observation may have been made from south Glasgow, but this could not be confirmed. Several initial reports were located via the “UK UFO Sightings” webpage, following an alert from one of the witnesses reporting to the SPA directly. Note that some of these were apparently written after assuming the meteor was actually an unknown aerial vehicle.
Preliminary sighting notes for the November 25-26 fireball are in a posting by “Netto” from November 27 on the Observing Forum.
See the UK Weather World’s Space Weather Forum for the report on the 02:10 UT November 27-28 fireball.
Closing a month replete with multi-site fireballs in 2010, the main event on November 28-29 happened in the early evening, probably within about five minutes of 17:42 UT. It was widely-seen from places across Northern Ireland and Eire, Wales and northwest England, west as far as Bolton in Lancashire and Shrewsbury in Shropshire. Thanks to details rapidly published online by Armagh Observatory, who collected the vast majority of the Irish and Northern Irish sightings, and excluding duplicates but including sightings sent to the Meteor Section directly, at least 48 separate reports were received of this meteor. Three more may have been of this event too, but contained too few details to be certain. Two of the Armagh list’s reports were of the ~20:00 UT fireball instead, for which unfortunately no other details could be derived. An initial review of the early data received at Armagh was published online, with a call for more observations, especially any images caught by CCTV security cameras. A more detailed examination of the visual sightings received by the SPA has regrettably been unable to significantly improve the initially quite vague idea of where the meteor may have overflown, as the data available did not allow a clear, single solution. It seems likely this was because very few people saw either the start or end of the complete trail (fourteen reports specifically mentioned the end as behind clouds, trees or rooftops), and the fact the atmospheric trajectory seemed to have been unusually long, and long-lasting. As a best-guess though, the meteor may have first become visible somewhere high above central to NE Scotland, or over the North Sea off the Scottish east coast perhaps between St Abb’s Head and Aberdeen. Its visible end-point was probably over the Atlantic some distance off the Co. Mayo, Eire, coast west of Donegal Bay, or possibly further south. It is likely the only land the fireball flew over was central or northern Scotland and perhaps some of the Western Isles. This could imply an atmospheric trajectory in excess of 600-650 km, if correct. An unexpectedly large range of visible flight-time estimates was made – between 1.5 to 2 seconds at the shortest to 30 seconds at the longest! This scatter was another factor in suggesting few people apparently saw the whole flight. Most estimates (74%) ranged from 3-15 seconds, with more than half (52%) favouring 5-10 seconds. However, 18% of the estimates still fell between 15-30 seconds. Assuming the long atmospheric path was right could have suggested timings in excess of 10 seconds may indeed have been more accurate. Even a meteor near the upper end of the usual 11-72 km/sec trajectory range for meteoric atmospheric-entry velocities, would have needed 8 to 9 seconds to accomplish a ~600-650 km flight, for instance. The fireball was commonly described as quite comet-like, with a distinct, round head and a narrower following tail. Another large scatter was apparent in the colours described as seen in this main meteor and its tail. The percentages of each colour-class from those who mentioned colours at all were as follows. Head or whole fireball: White 27%, orange 20%, green 18%, yellow 14%, blue 14%, red 7%. Tail: Red 27%, orange 23%, white and green 14% each, yellow and purple/violet 9% each, and blue 4%. Sixteen reports mentioned some kind of fragmentation occurred, probably quite late in the flight, with many favouring quite small pieces being involved, often like sparks. However, two people who claimed to have followed the meteor to its end were equally clear that no fragmentation had happened at all. For once, there was consistency in that nobody reported hearing any sounds they associated with the meteor.
Report continues here.