

Ask HN: Fireball in the sky - kwamenum86

On Friday evening (11/21) I was walking home (in NJ) at around 8 PM and I saw a fireball streak across the sky.  It's hard to describe the size of the ball but let's say it looked to be about the size of an airplane, but moved very quickly and left a yellow streak in its path.  It was a pretty spectacular once in a lifetime type of sight...but it left me scratching my head and asking myself what the hell was that?<p>I searched for a news story about what happened Saturday evening and this is the closest thing I found (an incident from a different day, same week): http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=9390870&#38;nav=LpDZ<p>And here is a YouTue video about the meteor from the above story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_2aX-784sw<p>The fireball I saw was about a fifth of the diameter, much less bright, and its trajectory was much more horizontal- it looked like it wouldn't hit the earth for a while if it kept on its path.<p>My best guess after a little research on the web is that I saw part of the Leonid meteor shower.<p>Anyone else see anything similar in the past 7 or so days?
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daftdani
I've seen these things in the sky over Stockport about 6 times now, they're
never falling, always travelling as a plane would. On new years eve four of us
saw one going along as usual but then split into 3 and go in different
directions. Whatever these things are they seem to have a flight path over our
house as we've only been there 6 months and seen them 6 times! I've seen
mereorites falling before and they're definately not those and I live near
Manchester airport and know for a fact they're nothing to do with planes. They
are definately big balls of fire travelling through the sky. Weird!!!!!

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h34t
I saw something just like this from Orlando, Florida (I live in Alberta but
was there for a trade show) on Tuesday, the same day as the police cam.

The one I saw didn't make as huge a flash at the end, but it was still the
most incredible thing I've ever seen in the sky. I was with a friend (who
didn't see it) and told him that I just saw something that absolutely had to
be fireworks (even though it was going horizontal and not like any other
fireworks I'd ever seen) because it was so bright and amazing, and we weren't
far from Disney World. But turns out it was a meteor...

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kwamenum86
Yes, that reminds me a lot of what I saw. Something like fireworks but
horizontal and a single large (relative to fireworks) streak.

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robg
I'd bet heavily that it was a meteor of some kind. The different compositions
will produce different colors and they can enter the atmosphere at many
different angles. But there may not have been a report because you may have
been the only one to see it! They happen so quickly and you have to be looking
up at just the right moment.

I once saw one (fiery streak then short burst of flaming goodness) sitting on
the Hudson shore in Hoboken looking across at the NYC skyline. I'll never
forget that, especially with revelers nearby jamming to Latin music.

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gojomo
Didn't see your fireball, but your description sounds a lot like the streak of
the space shuttle in its reentry before landing that I saw a few times from
Texas in the 1990s -- went from horizon to horizon rather quickly, like a
glowing jet contrail in the night sky.

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ram1024
i see dead people

