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Subscribe to RSSTraveling at 33,000 mph, a massive meteor hit the Earth's atmosphere creating a giant shockwave that blew out windows of glass, injuring nearly 1,000 people and creating panic. On the same day, an asteroid half the size of a football field came within 17,000 miles from Earth. NBC's Tom Costello reports.
A fireball streaking across the Northern California sky Friday night brought a flood of witness reports -- the same day that a meteor exploded over Russia and an asteroid made a near-Earth fly-by.
The fireball was seen around 7:45 p.m., by witnesses as far north as Fairfield and as far south as Gilroy, NBCBayArea.com reported. It was also reportedly seen in Sacramento and Walnut Creek. NBC station KSBW of Monterey said the object was visible along California's Central Coast, too.
NBCBayArea.com said Candice Guruwaiya gave this account on Facebook of seeing it in San Jose: "I was leaving Safeway on Branham and Snell when I saw it. ... It was a bright green when it first appeared, then it went to a bright yellow. It was awesome!"
The fireball was seen about 24 hours after a meteor exploded over Russia's Chelyabinsk region and a 150-foot-wide asteroid came within 17,200 miles of Earth.
An astronomer at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland told NBCBayArea.com that Friday night's event wasn't related to the asteroid's passing:
Gerald McKeegan, an astronomer at Chabot, said he did not see it, but based on accounts he thinks it was a "sporadic meteor," which can happen several times a day but most of the time happens over the ocean, away from human eyes. Sporadic meteors bring as much as 15,000 tons of space debris to Earth each year, according to McKeegan. He explained that meteors, which are hunks of rock and metal from space that fall to Earth, burn up as they go through Earth's atmosphere, which is what apparently caused tonight's bright flash of light.
He said it was likely smaller than another meteor that landed in the Bay Area in October, which caused a loud sonic boom as it fell, breaking apart and spreading rocks, called meteorites, in the North Bay.
More about the cosmic hits (and near-misses):
- Nuclear-like meteor blast injures 1,000 in Russia
- Meteor vs. asteroid? Terms can get tangled
- Meteor warning system ready by 2015
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, speaks to NBC's Lester Holt about the meteor and asteroid that approached Earth on Friday.
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Quick Ma !!! Git my Gun !!! The Space Aliens are trying to steal the chickens again !!! Gary Larsen
It's this kind of media hype that destroys science. The same kind of hype that created denialist movements against AGW and climate change, polution, clean energy, etc.
The media hypes this stuff as if it were the end-of-days, nothing major happens right away, and many people assume it was scientific incompetence or money grabbing. And science pays the price, then society pays the price.
AGW was disproven in 1755 by Isaac Newton and proven to be a Natural, cyclic, event that has been occuring in 41,000 year cycles for at least the past 250 Million years, in 1976 by Hays, Imbrie and Shacklton!
The Peoples Republic of California is still there? Oh well we still have the hope of Subduction!
It would be something to see. I can only imagine what I would probably think I was there in person witnessing it.
Poverty is caused by sin: Right now,the yearly earnings is below the poverty line for people making
7.20 per hour,the minimum wage,and Jesus said he came to preach his Gospel to
the poor,and the GOP,the religious and political right claim to be Christian are
not following Jesus,but each other,the blind leading the blind,and falling into
the ditch,as Jesus teaches.And increasing the minimum ware to 9 dollars plus per
hour would raise millions above the poverty line,and many over time can save,get
a loan,and possibly own their own small business.Over all,many more people being
above the poverty line can only make America a stronger country.We've seen the
riots poverty causes in other countries.
What exactly does this have to do with a fireball?
You just can't Titan or loosen the asteroid belt. It's like fooling with Mother Nature!
We must maintain equilibrium, and in an asteroid belt is where the earth has chosen to live. So be it.
you're kidding right? do you think you should study the geography of the solar system one more time? the asteroid belt is between mars and jupiter.. NOT between mars and venus
If it does have to do with religion and the gods are having a fight throwing fire balls at us you know they have lousy aim :)
Warning shot?
They should name February 15th "world asteroid day", but that might confuse some people...after all, they might think it's Christmas with "comet" right after "cupid".
Maybe this should be a note to all on Earth that we should stop all our egoistic "them vs. us" bickering, posturing and homicidal wars based on religion and other inane obsolete notions and may align together a species evolutionary blessed with the ability to form complex technology and get to work to use this technology to develop better tracking and then missiles that could stop an incoming catastrophe. The real threats to all of us an all life here is not some idiotic distinction in Scripture or obscure "national interests." Get with it folks, we live in a universe that is a very scary place for us all if we just start paying attention to it. All our resources should be joined in World Alliance to scan the skies and stop the incoming catastrophic missile that will continue to be thrown at us by our universe. Not only could it literally save our planet, or at least all life on it, but we might also get the added message that all the religious, political and national doctrine that separate us is all lot of eyewash!
During an interview on Obamas 2 million dollar golf lesson trip to Florida Obama says " quote me on this ITS BUSH's FAULT!!!!!" Now let me get back to spending the countries money. Oh and by the way his wife is off on her vacation in Col. sending another 2 million of the tax payers money. What a freking joke these people are. Really cant blame her I wouldn't want to be with that Bastard either
You are absulutly correct,it's good to know that I'm not alone. Good job!
See, even GAWD is telling the Republi-Nazi's to knock their BS off or, he's gonna take 'em out..... You go, Big Guy...
Another good reason to have arms and ammo. When a surprise asteroid hits and causes panic, I can defend myself from the panicked masses.
When moments count, the police are only minutes (or hours) away.
Don't worry, Obamarama will sign an executive order to ban comets, meteors, or any other Republican heavenly bodies, and we will all be fine from then on!
Blaming Obama's SOTU speech as liberal is another holdover from the Cold
War where we couldn't love our enemies,even as now our fellow liberal
Americans.And as the Russians during the Cold War,who we couldn't love,and who
couldn't love us,and so obey Jesus' teaching of loving your enemies.And this
disobedience to Jesus erupted into wars,the Korean and the Vietnam Wars.And even
the Russians invading Afghanistan out of which came Osama Bin Laden,and we
helped train him and his men to fight the Russians at the time,and then later
out of Bin Laden came his attack of 9/11,and so our 12 year war in Afghanistan
which is still going on,and that war was used as a reason to go to war in
Iraq.
yes, eventually we will be hit hard by one of these. NBC will find a way to blame the GOP and Feisty will confirm. there are some things more important than political agenda however this "news" website will forever be tabloid scum.
Keep looking up, this is going to get very interesting.
I can hear ZZ Top playing La Grange.
I'm sure there are lots of fireballs seen in the bay area. Plenty of those fireballs out there.
Those dang little green bug eyed space invaders couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Or was it that Superman villian guy trying to knock off California to create some new beach front property again? Nice to see all the loons are out... the world is doomed, what we need is the matter anti matter chamber, Spock and the gang to zoom back in time to save us.... Help!!!! But hey, we got the doom and gloom writers, and politicians all running around jumping for dollars and federal meteor funding projects. I'll vote for them, and buy the books... I am tired of wearing my little tiny biking helmet all the time.
Religious people should be asking their gods what's up. Of course they won't get an answer.
Once Again ... You've Got to be kidding!!!!!! We spend BILLONS on state of the art satelites that can spot a car moving along a road from hundreds of miles above the earth, we have space bound telescopes that are mapping the far reaches of the universe, as tax payers we've paid for HUNDREDS of Multi-Million dollar earth bound telescopes across the world that can spot stars Billions of light years away and NO ONE SAW THIS METEOR COMING ?!?!?!
I wonder if these are the same scientists watching over these meteorites that believe global warming is a myth?!?!
Our only hope is Gingrich's, moon colony.
Are the space rocks illegal aliens, liberal commie tree hugger, pro Obama health care advocates, or is Zeus or Odin angry at us for some thing?
To think everyone laughed when North Korea said they were going to send missiles a flying. First Russia then the US, wonder when Beijing gets theirs.
There's NOT a thing we would be able to do to stop them so, get right with God, and good or bad, ride it out.