Page 10 - june_july_2009.qxd

September 2010_june_july_2009.qxd 29/09/2010 10:59 PM Page 10 10 Fireball seen over Santa Fe Likely Meteor Fireball seen over Santa meteor shower he saw a couple of weeks ago. camera also captured the event. Ashcraft said a meteor's brightness is On Ashcraft's video, the fireball can be Fe likely a meteor seen passing by the moon. indicative of size and is measured against the Staci Matlock | The New Mexican The bright flash of light traveling across moon's light. The full moon is Minus 13. "This Wed Sept 22 2010 the sky, and what some described as a "loud was a Minus 11 or Minus 12 fireball," Ashcraft explosion" soon after, were witnessed by said. several people in Santa Fe, Pecos, Ocate and If the meteor landed somewhere before A bright, "significant" fireball seen elsewhere in the state. Ashcraft said the burning up, it becomes a meteorite. "But it is passing near Santa Fe and Pecos on Tuesday fireball's trajectory was from somewhere south hard to say yet if it made landfall," Ashcraft night was likely a meteor, according to an of Albuquerque and appeared to end between said. Eldorado astronomer who captured the event on Taos and Ocate. He said fireballs of this size and a special video camera. Facebook users posted comments about brightness are rare. "A large event like this only "I was out in my observatory," said seeing the bright light and hearing an explosion. happens once or twice or three times a year over Thomas Ashcraft. "I heard what I thought was Someone in Ocate left an anonymous message the same location," said Ashcraft, who operates thunder and assumed it was thunder." at The New Mexican saying a UFO had been the video camera nightly and reports data back But there were no clouds in the sky. spotted near the village in Eastern New Mexico. to Sandia. Then Ashcraft received a call from a fellow Ashcraft is among dozens of volunteer Certainly sightings of UFOs are more meteor watcher in El Paso who had caught the fireball watchers who are participating in the frequent in the Land of Enchantment. fireball on video. Ashcraft hurried inside and Sky Sentinel program through Sandia. Most are According to the National UFO Reporting rewound the video on the special Sky Sentinel in North America, but a handful are Center, New Mexico residents have reported camera on loan to him from Sandia National participating in Mexico, Ireland and Russia, 642 instances of strange, unidentified aerial Laboratories. "I saw I had it pretty well," he according to Dale Clayton Jackson, the program lights and shapes dating back to at least the mid- said. coordinator. 1990s. The latest report out of Santa Fe was on The fireball passed over New Mexico at Jackson said the volunteers provide vital May 26, when someone reported seeing two 9:01:27 p.m. It was visible for 23 seconds. data about objects entering the Earth's gold "starlike" objects moving in a staggered "That's rare. That's a very long time to atmosphere. "We need a wider geographic area formation over the Jemez Mountains just before see one," Ashcraft said. "This was a slow- and more observations to get more meaningful noon, according to the Center's website. burning fireball." statistics on how many objects enter the The most recent fireball reported to the John Perez was driving on Rodeo Road atmosphere, how many strike the earth and how center was spotted March 3 over Rio Rancho near Santa Fe Place mall when he saw the flash many threaten satellites," Jackson said. and lasted 10 minutes, according to the poster. of red. "I saw a red light in the sky going toward NASA uses the information to figure out Ashcraft urges anyone who captured an Pecos," said Perez, an amateur backyard star how to protect astronauts from debris and image of the fireball on film or video to send watcher. "It looked like it was going straight meteors striking spacecraft. him a copy. If he can get more images from down." Jackson said last night's meteor other locations, he can triangulate the location He thought it might be remnants of a was a significant fireball. Sandia's Sentinel of the falling meteor. []