Scientist: Satellite must have crashed into Asia

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By JUERGEN BAETZ

BERLIN (AP) - A defunct German research satellite crashed into the Earth somewhere in Southeast Asia on Sunday, a U.S. scientist said - but no one is still quite sure where.

Most parts of the minivan-sized ROSAT research satellite were expected to burn up as they hit the atmosphere at speeds up to 280 mph (450 kph), but up to 30 fragments weighing a total of 1.87 tons (1.7 metric tons) could have crashed, the German Aerospace Center said.

Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said the satellite appears to have gone down over Southeast Asia. He said two Chinese cities with millions of inhabitants each, Chongqing and Chengdu, had been in the satellite's projected path during its re-entry time.

"But if it had come down over a populated area there probably would be reports by now," the astrophysicist, who tracks man-made space objects, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20111023/D9QI6FQ80.html

[CanonRay]

1. As we were driving eastbound, east of Eden, Texas just before dawn

yesterday, we saw a huge fireball moving from northwest to southeast, across our field of vision. It was somewhat east of our position. The smoke residue hung high in the sky long after. Appeared too large to be a meteor. Wonder if this was a piece of this thing?

[Ian David]

3. There has also been a big meteor shower.

Orionid Meteor Shower Wows Weekend Skywatchers
by Tariq Malik, SPACE.com Managing Editor
Date: 22 October 2011 Time: 05:06 PM ET

A weekend meteor shower created by the leftover bits of the famed Halley's comet is thrilling skywatchers around the world, who captured amazing photos of the cosmic light show.

The dazzling "shooting star" display was sparked by the 2011 Orionid meteor shower, which peaked before sunrise on Saturday (Oct. 22). The meteor shower is visible in the southeastern sky and appears to emanate from the constellation Orion, the Hunter (hence its name).

Skywatcher Kendall McDonald was out for a jog in Niceville, Fla., late Friday and happened to spot meteors from the Orionid display.

More:
http://www.space.com/13364-orionid-meteor-shower-wows-skywatchers.html

[CanonRay]

4. I wondered if it might have broken up beforehand

I've seen meteor showers, and this was very large by comparison, and only a single piece.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. Your not alone in what you saw.

It, whatever "it" was, has created quite a fuss.

Austinites witness astronomical event
Reports stretch from North Austin to Lake Travis

AUSTIN (KXAN) - KXAN received several calls and emails Sunday morning about an astronomical event that lit up portions of the Central Texas sky shortly before sunrise on Sunday, a display that could be seen for at least 100 miles according to an FAA spokesperson.

Lynn Lundsford with the Federal Aviation Administration in Fort Worth , Texas told KXAN News there were reports of bright lights and contrails in the Dallas-Fort Worth area around the same time as KXAN viewers reported seeing similar occurrences.

Some viewers believed what they witnessed may have been debris from a defunct German satellite which was expected to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere this weekend but scientists believe the satellite fell somewhere in Asia.

”We have had no official confirmation that what your viewers saw was the satellite re-entering. I can tell you that people in the DFW area reported seeing bright lights and contrails to the south at the same time people there saw them to the north. Whatever it was, it could be seen for at least 100 miles in either direction,” Lundsford said.

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/austinites-witness-astronomical-event

[Ian David]

7. Very cool. n/t

[snagglepuss]

People in the following link were live tracking the fall. Check out the thread to

see if it was tracked over Eden.


http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1677702/pg1?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook

[snagglepuss]

9. People in the following link were live tracking the fall. Check out the thread to

see if it was tracked over Eden.


http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1677702/pg1?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook

[Ian David]

2. Scientists. What do THEY know. They have yet to prove that Asia really exists.

Yes, I'm kidding.

[They_Live]

5. "no one is still quite sure where" ???!!!

They count how many hairs I have on my arm from outer space, and how many lights are on in in my house by going by in a van or helicopter, and every single phone call that I make is recorded and analyzed, but nobody knows where an almost two ton satellite crashed to earth? Good thing it wasn't a missile or something!

[snagglepuss]

10. They have an idea where it crashed but it is still huge. I too can't fathom

how it they can't track such a large object.


snip

Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said the satellite appears to have gone down over Southeast Asia. He said two Chinese cities with millions of inhabitants each, Chongqing and Chengdu, had been in the satellite's projected path during its re-entry time.

“But if it had come down over a populated area there probably would be reports by now,” the astrophysicist, who tracks man-made space objects, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Calculations based on U.S. military data indicate that satellite debris must have crashed somewhere east of Sri Lanka over the Indian Ocean, or over the Andaman Sea off the coast of Myanmar, or further inland in Myanmar or as far inland as China, he said.

The satellite entered the atmosphere between 9:45 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. Saturday ET and would have taken 15 minutes or less to hit the ground, the German Aerospace Center said. Hours before the re-entry, the center said the satellite was not expected to land in Europe, Africa or Australia.




http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/german-satell... /

[AngryAmish]

8. Asia is rather large....