[meteorite-list] Possible Irish Meteorites 8.23.11

[dorifry]

This just in:

http://www.irishweatheronline.com/news/space/meteorite/meteorites-possible-from-irish-fireball/33267.html

Meteorites Possible From Irish Fireball
By Mark Dunphy - Tue Aug 23, 1:28 pm

  a.. 0 Comments
  b..
  c..

[Translate]

Edited byMark Dunphy
  a.. Also Wrote
  b.. NASA Spots Extra Energy In The Sun's Corona
  c.. Earthquakes Hit Argentina And New Zealand
  d.. Record Flooding Affects North Dakota
  e.. Video:Massive Dust Storm Hits Middle East
  f.. GALLERY Ireland On 25 January 2011



A fireball, similar to the one pictured, was observed over Irish skies on 23 
August 2011

Astronomy Ireland (AI) has confirmed that a fireball meteor entered the 
atmosphere above Ireland in the early hours of Tuesday morning (23 August 
2011).


The organisation added that meteor fragments are likely to have reached the 
surface but it remains unclear at this stage if the impact occurred overland 
or in the Atlantic Ocean.

Astronomy Ireland says it has already received dozens of reports of a bright 
fireball shooting across Irish skies at approximately 12:15 AM on Tuesday. 
60-70% of reports received came from the Greater Dublin area with other 
reports being received from Tipperary, Meath, Cork, Mayo and Kerry.

Initial reports suggest the fireball moved westward in a line from north 
Dublin to south Mayo, meaning anyone living to the north of this line would 
have observed the fireball to the south and vice versa for those living 
south of the Midlands.

Only two meteorites have been successfully retrieved on the island of 
Ireland since the beginning of the 20th century. A meteorite was recovered 
in Northern Ireland in 1969, while in November 1999 a meteorite fall in 
County Carlow earned a local woman almost ?15,000 when she recovered four 
egg-sized pieces.  Fragments were subsequently donated to the National 
History Museum in London and Trinity College Dublin.

According to AI's Conor Farrell: "There is high confidence that this meteor 
produced meteorites. If the fireball was brighter than the Full Moon, as has 
been reported by many people today, then it is well worth looking for a 
meteorite (the part that survives the fall to Earth). However, it remains 
unclear whether they impacted overland or in the sea. Even if the main body 
of the meteorite crashed into the sea, smaller pieces could have fallen 
earlier on land", explained.

He added: "We would appeal to anyone who may have captured the fireball on 
video or camera to visit our website as soon as possible. We would also ask 
anyone who operates a CCTV system to review video from around 12:15am this 
morning."

Mr. Farrell said that average meteor is no bigger than a grain of sand. He 
continued: "When it collides with the Earth the closing speed can be of the 
order of 100,000mph and the friction with the thin air 100 miles above the 
ground quickly heats the tiny particle until it vapourises in a fiery streak 
which we call a shooting star and that typically only lasts one second or 
so."

"Most meteors are caused by small particles of dust that were left behind by 
comets. The brighter meteors come from larger particles. Fireballs are 
probably caused by objects the size of a pea, and larger. Comets leave very 
few large particles behind them so most fireballs probably come from pieces 
smashed off asteroids as the result of something (probably another asteroid) 
colliding with an asteroid, probably millions of years ago. Most asteroids 
orbit the Sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter i.e. between 2 and 4 
times the Earth's distance from the Sun. Compared to planets, most asteroids 
are small (only a handful are bigger than 100 miles across) but they are 
rocky and some have metal cores", he concluded.

To report a Fireball or submit images/video visit the Astronomy Ireland 
website.

Notable European Meteorite Finds

The Cape York meteorite was found in Savissivik, Greenland, and is one of 
the world's largest iron meteorites.

Elbogen - The oldest recorded meteorite in the Czech Republic, also known as 
the "betwitched burgrave".

Hrascina meteorite - Croatian meteorite first speculated as originating from 
outer space.

Orgueil is a scientifically important carbonaceous chondrite meteorite that 
fell in SW France in 1864

Follow Irish Weather Online on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook. Stay 
updated via RSS







------------------------

Phil Whitmer

Joshua Tree Earth & Space Museum

"I don't like being around kangaroos, they make me jumpy!"