Meteoriet boven Australië gesignaleerd
It lit up the beach': reports of large meteor crash off Queensland coast
Geosciences Australia confirm ‘tremor’ not caused by an earthquake after eyewitnesses near Gladstone report tail in sky, bright flash and loud bangs
Photo's: Ellie Thompson/Facebook
Central Queensland residents have reported bright lights and a loud boom in the night sky, sparking speculation of a meteor strike.
A spokesperson for Geosciences Australia confirmed there had been a “tremor” around Gladstone about 8.30pm on Monday and that it wasn’t caused by an earthquake.
Harvard astrophysicist Johnathan Powell told the Gladstone Observer “this sounds like a big [meteor], first in several years that has been that big”.
“I’m guessing about a rock about a metre across which would have been big enough perhaps to leave fragments,” he said.
Jacques Reimers was sitting at the beach at Boyne Island when he said he saw the entire thing unfold.
“[It] looked like a big as hell shooting star and lit up the beach then about a minute later a big bang and a shockwave came over the water and shook my car little bit was a pritty (sic) awesome experience,” heposted on the Higgins Storm Chasing Facebook page.
Lynette Emerson, who lives at Boyne Island, said her husband saw something on Monday night.
“My husband was putting [out] the garbage bins when he saw the outside of the house light up. He turned around and saw a brilliant meteor or something flash overhead and disappeared over the sea,” she posted on Facebook.
Claire Dent said she saw something bright in the sky with a “tail” and then heard a loud boom.
Police said they had received numerous phone calls from residents, but no damage has been reported.
Dozens of people took to social media to share their experiences, many describing a “bright flash”, loud “bangs” and their houses “shaking”.
Higgins Storm Chasing weather group said the meteorite most likely impacted somewhere offshore because there were no reports of damage on land.
Meanwhile, a 3.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Airlie Beach at around 10.15pm, though there is nothing to suggest it was as a result of the apparent meteor strike.
Bron: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/27/it-lit-up-the-beach-reports-of-large-meteor-crash-off-queensland-coast
| Gewijzigd: 1 februari 2017, 09:44 uur, door Joyce.s
Government releases footage of 'fireball' lighting up sky
WHAT WE KNOW:
-Gladstone police and astronomy experts have received hundreds of calls from residents who heard a "boom"
-Experts are divided over if it's a meteor, meteorite, an asteroid, or a UFO that lit up Gladstone's sky
-Residents reported feeling a tremor
-Fresh Government footage shows Gladstone's skies lighting up
UPDATE: 7.40pm:
WAPPA Falls Observatory owner and founder Owen Bennedick believes the near earth asteroid exploded over the ocean near Gladstone last night.
At 6pm he said, "every cat and dog on the planet has called me about this today", and he was still unable to pin point where the asteroid landed.
The Bureau of Meteorology reported no minor tsunamis or wave action on its buoys, which lead Mr Bennedick and other experts to believe it did not land in the ocean.
"But just the fact that no one has seen any physical damage makes me think it did explode out at sea," he said.
"There's no trees, buildings or cars damaged," he said.
"Considering it's in an area the size of Gladstone it's strange that no one has noticed damage."
He said if it did explode at sea the pieces of the asteroid could have been so small that they would not have recorded a high wave impact.
Mr Bennedick said people from as far as Mackay to the Sunshine Coast saw the flashing light.
He said the force broke windows in Gladstone homes too.
UPDATE: 3.10pm:
THE DEPARTMENT of Transport and Main Roads has released new footage of what is believed to be a meteor lighting up the sky in Central Queensland over night.
TMR CCTV footage at Fisherman's landing captured the meteor as it tore through the sky.
UPDATE: 2.30pm:
NEW FOOTAGE has emerged of what is believed to be a meteor near Gladstone
The footage, which appears to be of a live music event, shows a "bright light" in the background crashing down to earth.
More experts have weighed in what the object could be, with WAPPA Falls Observatory owner Owen Benedict on his way to Gladstone to investigate.
Mr Benedict believes it could be an asteroid, but other renowned astronomical experts have claimed it's a "fireball meteor".
Bron: http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/news/breaking-earthquake-hits-gladstone-residents-feel-/3094027/ | Gewijzigd: 1 februari 2017, 09:45 uur, door Joyce.s
