British Astronomical Association
	Meteor Section

Fireballs

Some of the most noteworthy/widely seen events of recent years have been:

2002 October 6 0452 UT

A brilliant fireball seen by several witnesses in Kent, with other sightings as far afield as Coventry, Burton on Trent and Cardiff, as well as the London area. The reports are consistent in describing a blue-green head trailing red ‘sparks’ Peter Foley at Maidstone, Kent, provided a series of sketches showing the fireball's fragmentation. From his perspective, the fireball - bright enough to fully illuminate the bedroom - was high in the south, ending at about 25 degrees above the horizon.

From the reported apparent positions, a rough trajectory starting over the North Sea east of Essex/Norfolk, ending above northern France seems likely for this object.

2002 December 19 0628 UT

A mag -6 early-morning fireball seen by many witnesses on their way to work, especially in southern England. Reports have been received from Sussex, Hampshire, Essex, Surrey and Worcestershire, and also from Manchester. The reddish-orange fireball had a track east to west over the English Midlands, and was visible for 5-10 seconds.

2003 February 21 2201 UT

Several observers in southern England saw this event on a clear, slightly hazy Friday evening. Sightings were made by Andy Burns of the Wiltshire AS at Lacock, Bill Worraker (Oxford), David Chilard, Colin Thomson and Trevor White (Worthing AS, Goring-by-Sea) and Robin Gorman of Hampshire AG at Clanfield. The meteor was described as yellow-green in colour, slow-moving and flaring to as bright as magnitude -6 by observers to the west. At Clanfield - presumably closest of the observing locations to the  fireball - the meteor appeared brighter than the Full Moon, and was followed after an interval of about three minutes by a sonic boom.  Fragmentation into several ‘blobs’ occurred in flight, with the individual pieces leaving an orange trail. From Wiltshire and Oxford, the fireball was seen in the southeastern sky, while the Goring observers saw it in the high northwest. A rough track heading SSE over the English Channel from the Isle of Wight seems reasonable.

2003 December 11 2305 UT

In a brightly moonlit sky, a slow-moving orange-red fireball with  green trail was seen taking 10-15 seconds to traverse a long path more or less west to east by witnesses in Cambridge, Chesham (Bucks.), Lower Pilsey (Derbys.),, ad Cheltenham (Glos.).  Its approximate track would appear to have been over the south Midlands. although occurring during the shower's rise to maximum, the object was not a Geminid.

2004 January 16 1946 UT

A mag. -5 to -6 event was seen from Devizes, Wilts., and Sheffield, S. Yorks. From eyewitness reports this would appear to have been over the Irish Sea west of Cumbria.

2004 March 25 2204 UT

Widely seen across the southern UK, despite conditions of patchy cloud at many locations. This event seems to have been below the usually-accepted fireball brightness, at about mag. -3, but was noteworthy for its widespread visibility a, slow trajectory and fragmentation, described by witnesses from locations spanning Essex, Worcs., Herts., West London and Devon.

Observer reports suggest a track heading southeastwards, probably over France and certainly well south of the British Isles. Stewart Moore in Essex, for example, saw the meteor heading from Gemini towards a point just east of Alphard in Hydra, low over the SSW horizon.

2004 May 20 2155 UT

A bright (mag. -6 to -8) green meteor, reported by three witnesses - near Coventry, in Staffordshire, and in Hay-on-Wye near the English-Welsh border. The fireball exploded at the end of its path, and was apparently well seen from the France-Belgium border where it was overhead.

2004 June 11 2115 UT

A couple of reports, from NW London and Essex, where the object was first seen in the zenith, ending about 45 degrees above the SSW horizon. Estimated to be as bright as the Full Moon, fragmenting in flight. Duration 4-5 seconds.

2004 August 6 2018 UT

John Kemp, just north of Canterbury, Kent, reports a slow-moving mag. -7 fireball low to the north moving west to east, leaving a smoky persistent train. Vague mention (no useful details!) of the event appeared on the uk.sci.astro newsgroup.

2004 September 24 0627 UT

In a bright sky just before sunrise, this brilliant white event was seen by numerous witnesses between Wigtownshire in SW Scotland and Devon, Oxfordshire and Essex in southern England. Some observers report a reddish tinge at the trailing edge, and fragmentation. The track appears to have been from Cumbria towards East Anglia or Kent. This event was briefly highlighted on a BBC programme covering near-Earth asteroid Toutatis a few days later.

2005 January 18 0635 UT

In the predawn, high to the south from central Scotland, and to the west from Peterborough, Cambs. Blue-green with a brief train, probably overhead in the west Midlands. Three reports.

2005 February 20 0955 UT

A daylight event on a clear, cold Sunday morning, widely seen across southern England from Essex to Cornwall and the Bristol area, and south Wales. Reports consistently describe a blue-green teardrop-shaped head, fragmenting at the end of 2-3 seconds’ flight into 4 or 5 pieces. The object was comparable to a first quarter Moon in brightness. Positional estimates from daytime events, with the absence of background stars for reference, are notoriously difficult to interpret, and a precise trajectory is hard to determine in this case. It seems fairly certain, however, that this fireball was travelling from south to north up the Irish Sea to the west of Wales. Ray Stuart, Theale, has provided an artist’s impression of his sighting, looking west towards Newbury.

Page last updated: 01/09/2005