Meteorite - wow, that was spectacular!

[engine]

I just saw the most spectacular meteorite burn up over the south of the UK. It persisted for at least 4 seconds and was, from me, over the east, arriving from the south and heading north.

It had a brilliant white head and a tail of magnificent proportions over about 10 degrees.

It dissappeared out of sight below the roof line before I could see whether it had burnt up.

If it hit the ground, I wonder what damage it could have done - a lot, no doubt.

[grandpa]

Interesting. I'm not sure, but I think I saw a meterorite last night, but it was different. If it was a meterorite, I saw it head on, no tail at all.

There was a luminous blue-white glow, lasting just a second, which rapidy faded away. It actually grew quite large in that brief second. I was wondering if that would be what the space station would look like if it were to explode. I watched the same spot for quite a while and saw nothing else to indicate aircraft/spacecraft.

First time I ever saw one head-on. Good thing it didn't hit me... really, it is ;)

[rocker]

These sightings can be the begining of the Perseid meteor shower, which happens every year from late July to mid August. Time to start looking up to the skies :)

[Syzygy]

If it came from the south then it may have radiated from the Lyrids, which are positioned in between Lyra and Hercules; just below and to the right of Vega, at altitude 72 degrees.

Syzygy

[JudgeJeffries]

#*$! - What are you guys on?

[Essex_boy]

My learned friend, you have confirmed to me and the good people of Essex that Judges on the whole, know nuffin mate.

[JudgeJeffries]

I used to see stuff like that when I was a student but it was the sixties. Nuf said.

[LifeinAsia]

Instead of a meteorite, I think it was a precursor of the next .com crash. Oh wait, no, that was Google's recent screwups. :)

[httpwebwitch]

I've been on vacation, sleeping under the stars for the past week (weather permitting) - and it did seem like there were more meteorites than usual. Not quite showering (like 15-30/hour), but frequent (maybe one every 5 minutes).

My grandma's next-door neighbour had a big meteorite on display in her flower garden, they found it out in a field one day, crater and all. The thing was the size of a softball.

Perseids aren't until mid-August

[jsinger]

My grandma's next-door neighbour had a big meteorite on display in her flower garden, they found it out in a field one day, crater and all. The thing was the size of a softball.

Aren't they worth a fortune?

[httpwebwitch]

Yes I've heard they are worth something, and this lady had one in her garden.

When you say "fortune", are you talking hundreds, thousands...? how many zeros are in the price of a meteor? It was just a glossy looking dark grey rock that was way heavier than it looked. As kids she showed it to us, but we weren't allowed to play with it.

Imagine if the thing was actually solid radioactive space platinum, and this lady had it sitting in her garden. ha!

I know where she lives, out in the country in on a side street of a forgettable hamlet, it's probably still there in her garden

[httpwebwitch]

a little research on eBay and elsewhere shows: in the right market, a softball-sized iron meteorite can sell for $3000 to $9000. They are often diced into tiny pieces to make jewelery for astronomy geeks. about 100 meteorites big enough to survive the atmosphere hit the earth every year.

Interesting fact: Moon meteorites - genuine chunks of moon that somehow end up on earth - are way expensive, fetching $4000 per GRAM.

[Syzygy]

They are often diced into tiny pieces to make jewelery for astronomy geeks.

Er... I have a small slice of a meteorite that fell in Namibia, but I don't want to be an astronomy geek... please, anything but that! :-)

Syzygy

[shigamoto]

a little research on eBay and elsewhere shows: in the right market, a softball-sized iron meteorite can sell for $3000 to $9000. They are often diced into tiny pieces to make jewelery for astronomy geeks. about 100 meteorites big enough to survive the atmosphere hit the earth every year.

Oh my god, I have one which I found on a hiking trip a few years ago. It was heavy and I dragged on it the whole trip. When I got back I put it in a wall I was building in the garden. It's still there, now I just gotta figure out a way to get it out of there......

[lawman]

Didn't Joe Dirt find a meteorite?

[httpwebwitch]

To put things in perspective, there are places online selling meteorite chunks for $3K, contrast this with other people selling them on eBay for $10. Anyone here in the mood for arbitrage? Buyer pays shipping ;)