Meteor Over The Gulf

**YellowDog** · 10-09-2010, 12:12 PM

Anybody else see the big meteor over the Gulf about 7pm Friday night?
Spectacular!

**seagrovegirl** · 10-09-2010, 12:19 PM

Originally Posted by YellowDog

Anybody else see the big meteor over the Gulf about 7pm Friday night?
Spectacular!

Interesting, saw what we thought was a shooting star about that time last night in Navarre. Is a shooting star a meteor?

**YellowDog** · 10-09-2010, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by seagrovegirl

Interesting, saw what we thought was a shooting star about that time last night in Navarre. Is a shooting star a meteor?

750 Meteors Per Hour Expected in Stunning Shower - FoxNews.com

maybe it was one of these
we see lots of shooting stars before, but nothing like last night - it was big!

**YellowDog** · 10-09-2010, 02:10 PM

Originally Posted by YellowDog

750 Meteors Per Hour Expected in Stunning Shower - FoxNews.com

maybe it was one of these
we see lots of shooting stars before, but nothing like last night - it was big!

Courtesy of Wikipedia: "A meteoroid is a sand- to boulder-sized particle of debris in the Solar System. The visible path of a meteoroid that enters Earth's (or another body's) atmosphere is called a meteor, or colloquially a shooting star or falling star. If a meteoroid reaches the ground and survives impact, then it is called a meteorite. Many meteors appearing seconds or minutes apart are called a meteor shower. The root word meteor comes from the Greek mete?ros, meaning "high in the air"."

Last night's then wasn't a meteorite since it fizzled before it landed.

**kurt** · 10-09-2010, 02:45 PM

A lot of USAF meteors over the gulf.

**YellowDog** · 10-09-2010, 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by kurt

A lot of USAF meteors over the gulf.

yeah - could have been like the ufos over the bay-
hope it was mother nature though

**Mango** · 10-10-2010, 01:48 AM

Originally Posted by YellowDog

Anybody else see the big meteor over the Gulf about 7pm Friday night?
Spectacular!

What you most likely saw was a fireball. They are meteors. They are spectacular and you never forget them. I saw one in February and I gasped because it was so large. What I actually saw was probably a bolide, which is a brighter fireball.

The American Meteor Society

**YellowDog** · 10-10-2010, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by Mango

What you most likely saw was a fireball. They are meteors. They are spectacular and you never forget them. I saw one in February and I gasped because it was so large. What I actually saw was probably a bolide, which is a brighter fireball.

The American Meteor Society

Thanks for the link! Good information about increasing your odds of seeing meteors. We've tried before on shower dates without much success - just got lucky last Friday.

**Will B** · 10-11-2010, 12:53 PM

You would be surprised how often you can see them if you try. This was taught to me my an amature astronomer...

Find a nice dark place with little to no light pollution.
Get comfy on a lounge chair or pad and stare straight up.
Don't look around for them. Looking straight up give you a veiw of the atmsphere at its thinnest point relative to you.
When one comes along, you will see it in your peripheral vision, and your eye will automatically move right to it.

On an average night you should see one every 2-3 minutes. Most are small, but some are really long.

The one part that I find cool is that my brain tells me there should be some sort of noise associated with it despite the fact that they are silent...

**Mightyern** · 10-11-2010, 01:02 PM

I saw it! Bold, big, bright green! I was outside the front of Summer Kitchen and said "oh my god! Shooting star! Did you see that?!?!" No one believed that's what it was! They were trying to convince me it was fireworks. Pish posh! I know my meteors! :)

**YellowDog** · 10-11-2010, 05:51 PM

Originally Posted by Mightyern

I saw it! Bold, big, bright green! I was outside the front of Summer Kitchen and said "oh my god! Shooting star! Did you see that?!?!" No one believed that's what it was! They were trying to convince me it was fireworks. Pish posh! I know my meteors! :)

Also heard from visiting friends that they saw it from Seaside.

**Mightyern** · 10-12-2010, 10:45 PM

Well, I guess I'm not as crazy as they'd like me to think. Good to know.

**fishheadspin** · 10-13-2010, 06:53 AM

i was in gulf shores and saw it. i told everyone about it and no one else saw it. I first thought it was way to bright to be a shooting star and thought it was a firework shot from somewhere near by but i never heard or saw anymore! it was a pretty awesome sight!

**SHELLY** · 10-13-2010, 11:42 PM

Originally Posted by fishheadspin

i was in gulf shores and saw it. i told everyone about it and no one else saw it. I first thought it was way to bright to be a shooting star and thought it was a firework shot from somewhere near by but i never heard or saw anymore! it was a pretty awesome sight!

...that was me coming out of hiding.

.

hrhtide67 · 10-18-2010, 10:33 AM

My wife and I too saw the meteor. We were in Santa Rosa Beach on 30A. At first I thought it to be a plane going down due to its size, but then relealized it to be a meteor. I am 43 and this was the most spectacular celestial event I have seen.

Glad we were on the deck to see it