· Get a Cloudy Nights T-Shirt · Submit a Review / Article Click here if you are having trouble logging into the forums Privacy Policy | Please read our Terms of Service | Signup and Troubleshooting FAQ | Problems? PM a Red or a Green Gu… uh, User You are not logged in. [Login] Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online FAQ · Calendar Speciality Forums >> Space Rocks Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Pages: 1 pjstoker sage Reged: 04/21/06 Loc: So. Calif, USA Scandinavian Fireball       #2889367 - 01/26/09 04:15 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I just saw this on Spaceweather.com and thought it might be of interest. If you haven’t already seen the video, it is definitely worth a view. It’s a fairly high-resolution video of a fireball that exploded over Scandinavia on 1/17/09. http://www.spaceweather.com/ Pat Post Extras:       Glassthrower Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Reged: 04/07/05 Loc: Oort Cloud 9 Re: Scandinavian Fireball [Re: pjstoker]       #2889410 - 01/26/09 04:43 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Pat, It's a spectacular fireball that reminds me of the recent "Buzzard Coulee" fall in Canada. However, there is a good chance that this meteorite (assuming there is one or more) fell in Denmark. If so, we may as forget looking for it. Danish laws regarding meteorites are very strict, and regardless of where they fall, they belong to the state. And the Danish do not pay a finder's fee or allow the finder a chance to buy some of the find. So, in effect, there is no monetary incentive whatsoever to compensate the expensive and exhaustive task of hunting meteorites in the field. Worse, Denmark has gained something of a reputation of neglecting it's meteorites. Their main mass of Cape York sits outside, uncovered and exposed to the elements - and they won't even build a roof over it! The best thing we can hope for is that it fell outside Denmark's borders. They have been discussing this fireball at length on the meteor observer's list, but AFAIK nothing has been found. Regards and clear skies, MikeG Post Extras:       pjstoker sage Reged: 04/21/06 Loc: So. Calif, USA Re: Scandinavian Fireball [Re: Glassthrower]       #2889461 - 01/26/09 05:17 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Mike, Very interesting reading your report about Denmark’s attitude and position on meteorite collecting and specimen preservation. Is it my imagination or have there been an unusually large number of good-sized fireballs recorded on video in the past couple of months. Certainly the one seen and recorded over Canada in late November was spectacular. Pat Post Extras:       Glassthrower Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Reged: 04/07/05 Loc: Oort Cloud 9 Re: Scandinavian Fireball [Re: pjstoker]       #2889541 - 01/26/09 05:57 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   It's not just you Pat, there has been an apparent increase in fireball reports lately. There was also a large fireball report in Florida recently, and at least one or two out west in the US. Just this past November, there was a large fireball that dropped meteorites near Tamdaught and the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. (this new Moroccan fall is still under debate) I don't have first hand knowledge of European laws that pertain to meteorites, but one of my knowledgeable sources is in Germany, and he is fluent with these laws. I am repeating and paraphrasing what he told me recently. If I understand properly, the Danish laws seem restrictive and self-defeating. The legions of finds from the hot deserts (like the NWA finds) have been mostly found and reported by independent meteorite hunters or nomads. There aren't university and government teams crawling the Sahara looking for meteorites - the people out there actually doing it are brave and enterprising private individuals who must cover their expenses, which can be considerable. But, because of the laws in Morocco, there is profit potential in prospecting for meteorites - and that's why science has benefited greatly from private hunters. Many of these recent NWA finds are rare types and planetaries - which are currently being studied and papers are being published about them. Sorry to digress there about hunting and laws, but if no meteorite is found as a result of this new Scandinavian fireball, then it may be because there was no meteorite to be found, or nobody thought it was worth it to look. As for why we are seeing an apparent increase in fireballs, I can't say. Statistically speaking, I'm not sure we are experiencing anything unusual. FWIW, there is an ever increasing number of sky-cameras and observatory cameras that are online all of the time. Combined with the ever present security and surveillance cameras that are everywhere nowadays, and the increase may be because of increased coverage and reporting. I'm not sure. Regards and clear skies, MikeG Post Extras:       Glassthrower Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Reged: 04/07/05 Loc: Oort Cloud 9 Re: Scandinavian Fireball [Re: Glassthrower]       #2890920 - 01/27/09 12:04 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Patrick, I just ran across this tidbit that explains at least one of the recent fireballs (not a US one) - http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/2008tc3.html Regards and clear skies, MikeG Post Extras:       pjstoker sage Reged: 04/21/06 Loc: So. Calif, USA Re: Scandinavian Fireball [Re: Glassthrower]       #2890954 - 01/27/09 12:34 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Mike, Thanks for the link. Very interesting read! Pat Post Extras:       Pages: 1 Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Extra information 1 registered and 0 anonymous users are browsing this forum. 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