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    September 28

    09/25/09 09:02 PM: Goodness! Gracious! Great Balls of Fire!

     
    Hi Everyone,
    I am just sending around a quick note to inquire of anyone saw the fireball over this area last night between 9 and 10 pm or so?
    So far only one site seems to have any reports: http:// www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/3357557/ > Main/3356852
    Let me know if you saw it or have heard of any reports.
    (CTV mentioned on the 11 pm news tonight that there is one photo of it taken by a Toronto guy)
    John
    PS  Rebecca saw it through our south facing window -I missed it! And I had been out taking photos just a half hour before.
     
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    Dave and I were having a lot of fun, looking at anything and everything.  The ring nebula was the brightest and clearest I'd ever seen it (even better than the night we saw it at the DDO a few years ago) and M13 was showing off individual stars easily.  And, of course, M31 filled the eyepiece - looked four times the size as it did the previous night.

    Then, about 9:05, we both happened to be away from the eyepiece and looking south and east - the biggest and brightest fireball I've ever seen flashed for about 3 secs. from about 80 degrees up in the SE.  It outshone the moon by many mags and looked like a huge green, yes, very green, roman candle coming almost straight down.  It burnt out before reaching the horizon, but we were bracing ourselves for a big boom - but, of course, probably totally annihilated itself or missed Earth entirely.  Whatever - it was the show of the night!    Unfortunately, mackerel clouds began to moved in and finally filled most of the sky by 10:30, but we had had our Galileo moment for the evening!

    Joan
     
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    I saw it! I saw it!!
    It was amazing!!
    I was on my way home and I was pulling up to a stop light here in Cambridge facing east.
    All of a sudden the sky lit up like huge flash of lightening but it didn't go out. I ducked my head under the windshield to see the cause of the light just in time to see this streaking fireball disintegrate looking something like fireworks as it breaks apart on the way down. I looked at my watch and it was 9:02PM. I couldn't believe how close to me it seemed. I've never seen anything like in my life. When I did finally get home in Puslinch, my wife and kids were sitting in the living room wondering what had happened as they hear an enormous boom. My wife actually turned off our gas fire place because she thought that a gas line had exploded. Could that have been the sonic boom as it came in through the atmosphere??? It was an amazing experience but a little surprise that there wasn't more media coverage about it considering the number of people out and about at that time on Friday night.
    I just wish I would have had a camera with me....
    What a night!!
    Take Care.
    Chris

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