Near miss with meteor

[Contract Dog]

WOW! just got back from a long day in the sand pit and saw an amazing sight today. We were at 20 000 in a BE20 and a 747 was above us at 33 000, We were off airways due to atc instructions and traffic and re intercepting the airway radial. I was looking at the 747 about 4 NM off our wing when a bright green meteor passed betwene us and burnt out at about 18 000ft, had we been on track, who knows! could be a dog shaped hole in the ground now, or if the 747 was off track, same thing, amazing sight! Are there any more sightings out there? and any incidents of aircraft brought down by this in the past?

Dog

wiff two tails.

[south coast]

I saw something very similar once flying over central Europe in a clear blue sky in the middle of the day.

I initially thought it was a shooting star, then I thought it was a rocket and after thinking about it and discussing it with my colleague, we decided it must have been some kind of space debris or a meteor which entered the Earth's atmosphere and burnt up.

It was like a firework.

[Apollo20]

contract dog, great to read your post! A few interesing pointers:
- it is not to say that if it stop being illuminated at FL180, that the actual meteor did not become a meteorite (this name for when it hits the ground).
- could you provide more detail on the 3D position of the meteor reletive to your own position, direction, speed and possible angle of the meteor from when you started seeing it to when it stopped illuminating. The reasoning for all these questions as there is slight possibility that the actual 4.5billiion year old piece of rock (if being an actual meteor) could be lying somewhere in the desert (I pressume from your post). Most importantly, what was your location at the time of sighting and what FL were you guys at?

I think, once we get your detail above, I shall be able to point you to some guys here in Africa that can help find the rock, if it did survive the journey to the ground which I am quite sure off, due to the fact that you are confident that it stopped "burning" at FL180... a meteorite is actually cold and frost laiden when it hits the ground, hence the potential of stopped illuminating after reaching FL180. The most meteors are "grain of sand" size rocks that burn up at 50km AGL, but your sighting/finding could be something to look for.

looking forward to your reply

Apollo 20

[Propellerpilot]

I believe hearing on BBC Radio on the 16. Nov that the meteorite showers (Leonids) where to reach maximum on the 17. Nov because some comet was also passing its closest point to earth during this time. Unfortunaltly I do not remember the exact details.

Just checked this website for more infos: Leonid meteor storms: NASA's Leonid Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign Homepage (http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/)

[Contract Dog]

The 747 was on the 222R inbound KTM heading 042 at 60 odd NM to the VOR, I was 4NM due south of him at 64DME heading about 230, the metior came from above ur to the south and burnt out below us to the north, exactly off our wing tip on the 222R KTM at 64 DME, its heading must have been about 305 degrees thus passing over and behind us and under and behind him, if it sounds confusing, draw it, it will make sence. What element burns bright green? I know they usually burn out 40 to 80 000ft, but I do recall looking down for an impact and saw nothing, that and the fact that the Sudan is at war, it wont be worth trying to find it. Next time I get a chance I will do the route at 10 000 ft and see if I can see a crater.

Dog

[james ozzie]

Once in a life time sight! I think barium gives a bright green colour when ionized (used in fireworks). Most times, the distance of these things is impossible to reliably estimate but in this case it seems you got a good visual 3 dimensional fix on it as it was between you and the other plane. But as stated above, it will be a very small object, especially what remains of it so I think the chances of finding it on the ground are zero. Also, I would think it wouldn't have made a crater if it had slowed to "non-glowing" speed; it would just be like a pebble falling at terminal velocity. I believe meteorites can be found in the icesheets in cold places, provided one can be sure that the rock fragments are not terrestial in origin (glaciers, for example). A fascinating report.

[Cardinal Puff]

Green, you say?

That's all I need, more Kryptonite.....:rolleyes:

[411A]

Not to throw cold water on this story, however, I have personally seen just this type of event, and consulting with astronomers at Kitt Peak observatory here in Arizona, they all said that usually these sightings look to the untrained observer to be much closer than they really (in actual fact)...are.

[2 tymzz]

i tend to agree with 411A. about a month ago out of jnb northbound at abt 8pm i saw one to the right side of the plane. i was at 310 and there was another northbound el al aircraft maybe 20 miles to my right and he was at 370 and the meteor appeared to pass between us and as it burnt itself out it lit up the entire sky. brilliant to watch! someone then called atc and said there was someone was shooting missiles at them. ;)

[gautengflyboy]

Sunday 22.11.09

Johannesburg and Pretoria residents have come forward, claiming they spotted a meteor in the skies on Saturday night.
People in Gauteng saw the bright light at around 11pm on Saturday night, heading towards the north of Pretoria.
“We saw this big green ball of fire. it kind of came out of the sky, out of the blue,” one resident said.
“There was sudden flash. Like an orange stripe in the sky, followed by a very bright explosion where the sky lit up as if it was daytime,” another explained.
Astronomers and scientists are still trying to find out where the meteor landed.
Ronnie McKenzie collects meteorites and said something like this is very rare.
“I would say it probably happens around two or three times a year around the world,” he said.

Just wondering if any aviators were flying at this time and saw anything from the sky. I was at home with friends. The whole sky lit up in a turquoise light. It was just like daylight - except for the colour. Something amazing to see, but I bet it would have been even brighter from the air.

[oompilot]

I think due the 747 also being on the same side as the siting it probably gave Contract Dawg an ability to judge the distance relatively so perhaps the distance is accurate. But then again it could also have been the affects of altitude coupled with giggle twig.

[Apollo20]

Contract Dog, your post is good, thank you. One last questions, can you please confirm the date and time (zulu) so I can forward your post to a fellow aviator that might be able to get your details to guys that might have more interest in this.

Apollo20

[Contract Dog]

oom, you may be right, may have been a sneez, or maybe the 74 driver over temped his engine and shat out a turbine blade?:E

The 747 was leaving huge contrails, thats what drew my attention to it, the metior passed betwene me and him as it obscured the contrails.

+- 12:30 Z 20th November. Friday.

Dog

[propspanner]

Dog,

Whats this now?:eek: You starting to see things?:= Been to long in Africa! Must be that Lagos dust, or is it too much rattling on the Harley?

[gautengflyboy]

YouTube - ViconIP - Highway PTZ - 11-21-09 22.52.10.mpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UOcRCSxeS4)

Amazing to see. So, any pilots that were on duty last Saturday evening (in the air) that saw this?