Grazing Fireballs and Their Intriguing Appearances on Earth’s Sky
The fireball that was spotted by researchers from the Observatory in Australia back on 7 July 2017 was a different phenomenon from what would most likely happen. In almost all of the cases, meteorites disintegrate in our atmosphere because they are set on fire, this occurrence being cause by their crushing speed. In other cases, the objects from space are simply slowed down.
However, in the case of 2017, the meteorite burned for one minute and a half and then it left an enormous trace of light and simply faded away. What is even more interesting is that instead of disappearing in our atmosphere or merely slowing down and crushing, in this case, the meteorite simply departed our planet.
Grazing Fireballs and Their Intriguing Appearances on Earth’s Sky
Its next stop is thought to be planet Jupiter and it will probably arrive in 2025. The leading researcher of Curtin University’s team has analyzed this event in depth. He stated that the most likely scenario for the unique meteorite is to be ejected into outer space after reaching Jupiter’s gravity. Additionally, the team has spotted several similar events that have happened with the celestial corpse back in history.
Back in 1783, the Great Meteor played the same game in Eath’s atmosphere being seen from England and continental Europe. This phenomenon inspired painter Frederic Church and artist Walt Whitman to compose a poem. The first time science has dealt with this type of event was in 1972, when another grazing fireball had reached Earth’s atmosphere, being seen for 101 seconds from North America after it disappeared.
What is even more intriguing is how often these events can occur. The researchers are trying to understand if there is a time slot during which these kinds of events are happening. Therefore, for this question to be asked, it is essential to wait for the next grazing fireball to light our sky. Consequently, at the moment, cameras are set to scan over 2 percent of the Earth’s surface.
Doris’s passion for writing started to take shape in college where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. Even though she ended up working in IT for more than 7 years, she’s now back to what he always enjoyed doing. With a true passion for technology, Doris mostly covers tech-related topics.
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