Widespread reports of spectacular multi-colored fireballs in the skies over the earth
December 03, 2012 - SKY - Here are several initial eye-witness reports of spectacular multi-colored fireballs from across the globe courtesy of the Lunar Meteor Hunters.
"MULTI-COLORED" "FULL MOON-SIZED" FIREBALL OVER NE UNITED STATES - 28th of November, 2012.
28 November 2012 - Benjamin Lipiecki, Brighton, Massachusetts, USA 2340.
Half a second duration, maybe a whole second. Saw it when looking Northeast as it traveled right to left at a very steep angel. The fireball started blue, then increased in size and changed to red. I was outside for several more minutes and did not hear any sound. Bright enough to see VERY clearly in a major urban area. The fireball at least appeared larger than the moon. Did not see any fragmentation, but the fireball did get very large and looked like it exploded or burnt out. Was unlike anything I've ever seen or expected to see in the night sky. At first I thought I must have been seeing things, but a friend of mine across town saw it too, and three or four people on twitter seem to also have seen it.
28 November 2012 - Rick Shaffer, Reading, MA, USA 23:40:00.
1-2 seconds duration - East-Northeast. Light green color, no sound. Bright as the moon, moving in opposite direction I was travelling in. It appeared very large and close.
28 November 2012 - Christopher Gillis, WOBURN, MA 2340 hrs.
2-3 seconds duration. I saw it in the Northeast sky. I was facing East in my backyard with no lights around, looking slightly downward, and this ENORMOUS blue/white streak fell earthward in a distinct arc while trailing white evanescent particles. Easily as bright as the full moon. There was fragmentation and the streak took up a third of the sky lengthwise. The ball of this object was the same size as the full moon, and at least as bright. I have seen dozens of meteorites in my life, and this was by far the biggest. Please contact me by email or phone, because this should be a major event. Hundreds of people in New England must have seen it.
"RED FIRE" FIREBALL OVER GEORGIA, UNITED STATES - 29th of November, 2012.
29 November 2012 - Brendan, Snellville, GA 22:48 EST.
4 seconds duration - Observed falling almost straight down in the western sky. White colour. 10x brighter than Venus. It appeared to be like a bright oval, wobbling as it fell.
29 November 2012 - Teresa Cronon, Calhoun, GA 22:45 EST.
4 seconds duration - Facing South. It was traveling SE. Bright white w/ red fire following. Bright as the moon. It was the largest and closest meteor or fire ball that I have ever seen.
Bill Cooke of NASA confirms:
"Confirm bright event on November 30 at 03:35:50 UTC (November 29, 22:35:50 EST).Confirm slow and low event, seen in 4 cameras. Trajectory solution is as follows:
Start location: 86.267 W, 33.959 N at an altitude of 75.0 km
End location: 86.178 W, 33.757 N at an altitude of 37.5 km
Initial speed of 16.0 +/- 0.7 km/s
Decelerated to 9.2 km/s
"BLUE-GREEN" FIREBALL OVER HUNGARY AND POLAND - 29th of November, 2012.
29 November 2012 - Lukasz, RACIBORZ, POLAND 17:50:00.
6 seconds duration. I was facing SSE, it went from left to right (the meteor bearing was SW). There was no sound, it was bright white, with some green and a little blue. It looked like car headlights from about 200m away. 3-4 fragments fell off during its flight. It looked like it was going pretty slow (though I've never seen a meteor before). Its flight path was very flat, almost horizontal. It flew for 6 seconds and then suddenly disappeared (maybe hidden behind clouds).
The meteor over Hungary on 29 November 2012 has been categorized as a bolide by several local websites, with around 15 people reporting it HERE.
The bolide was seen in a central part of Hungary, over an area marked by Ocsa, Tokol, Oroshaza, Nyiregyhaza, Budapest, Jaszapati, Jaszbereny. All witnesses describe fragmentation into 3-4 parts. The color was reported as bright white (xenon), with some green and blue. A report says its size was equivalent to the moon. Weather conditions at this time included a full moon and clear sky in the region. The most popular Hungarian news site also reported the event HERE.
WATCH: Fireball over Hungary.
"BRIGHT GREEN" FIREBALL OVER SOUTHEASTERN AUSTRALIA - 30th of November, 2012.
30 November 2012 - Joanne Nabiac, NSW, Australia 10.46pm.
4 seconds duration - Southwest direction. Bright green and small explosion noise. Same brightness as the moon. Super fast, looked like it had a tail but it was the glow behind it. I have never seen anything like this. The "poof" noise sounded far, far away.
Approx.1 second duration - I was looking from the coastline, facing West. Seen from overhead high in sky, approx 45 degree azimuth, trajectory N to low SSW, 10 degree azimuth. Lime green [glow stick green colour], very bright [firework bright, but definitely not a firework, trajectory like a meteor]. No fragments seen. Round shape, no tail noticed, fast moving.
"LOUD HUM," AND "LIGHTS" OVER NARRAGANSETT BAY - 04th of December, 2012.
Rhode Island and Coast Guard officials say they haven't found anything after receiving reports about an explosion in Narragansett Bay. People on both sides of the bay in Barrington and Warwick and as far away as Somerset, Mass., reported hearing what sounded like an explosion at about 11:30 p.m. Monday. Some also reported seeing a light. Area police and firefighters tried to find the source of the noise and light during land and water searches, but officials say nothing was found. Coast Guard crews and local officials also searched Monday night for a boat reported to be in distress, but didn't find anything. TV stations reported receiving reports of an explosion followed by a loud hum. A Coast Guard spokesman says the Conimicut lighthouse near Warwick emits a hum pattern. - South Coast Today.
UNUSUAL OBJECT IN THE SKY OVER MALTA - 04th of December, 2012.
Several readers contacted our website this evening to report an unusual object, possibly a comet, crossing low in the night sky. Edward Zammit, who lives in Mellieha, said that at about 8.45 he saw a comet in the sky crossing from north to the west of Malta. "It wasn't a shooting star, I saw it passing for about 15 seconds until is was hidden by nearby building," he said. Markatia Bugeja reported that she had just seen 'the most wonderful asteroid passing over Malta at enormous speed.' "I think it fell into the sea. It was a huge ball of fire with a long tail, it was amazing," she said, hoping that somebody had grabbed a picture. Robert Bonello, said he had seen what appeared to be a 'mega shooting star or meteorite with a yellow tail behind it...extremely fast, beautiful but scary. He asked if anyone could give an explanation. Christopher Azzopardi said he had seen a ball of fire flying overhead. He said he was not sure whether it was a meteor but it was big and fast. Marianna Petropoljac said she was in Sliema when she saw an object at about 9.05. "It appeared from the side of the tower and headed towards Valletta. We live on the 6 th floor and it looked quite large, like a bright reddish ball with a very short and thin tail. After about 15-20 sec it disappeared into the sky." A reader also reported sighting the unusual object from Pembroke. The police confirmed that they had received similar reports but had no further information. No unusual aircraft movements were reported. - Times of Malta.
