Wow.(vanity) Incredibly bright meteor over Georgia.

02/25/2007 | Sender

[RadioAstronomer]

It also could have been a rocket body or some other orbiting bit of space junk burning in.

[RadioAstronomer]

Flapdoodle. Dave, most of us have known since about third grade what shooting stars are.

[Tokra]

I saw one a while back here in Michigan. Apparently I was the only one to see it.

A friend and I saw one a few years ago in Michigan. It was huge - glowed blue and green and was so close we could see the smoke coming off it and could actually hear it. It lit up the entire sky. Apparently, we were the only ones to see it.

[mdmathis6]

You live close to my Brother...lives in Winder

[Jaysun]

Actually that was my first thought, that this was a firework shot by neighborhood kids. But it was silent, and much too bright to be possible.

You don't understand sir. You saw nothing. Perhaps a weather balloon, or a bottle rocket, but nothing more.

[MHGinTN]

I know you're busy, but could the object seen have been re-entering portions of the Chinese satellite or the interceptor vehicle?

[MHGinTN]

Do you have access to the predicted orbital paths for the debris?

[Sender]

You don't understand sir. You saw nothing. Perhaps a weather balloon, or a bottle rocket, but nothing more.

Yes, I see...now that I remember it more clearly, it was nothing. I feel silly for mentioning it. Actually I don't know why I thought I saw something.

By the way, what are those men in sunglasses doing out front? By the Suburban with tinted windows. Oh, meter readers. OK.

[KC Burke]

After a night of reflection, I think it was Al Gore's political future burning out in the atmosphere.

[.308 PSS]

East to west is consistent with my findings as well.

[.308 PSS]

I talked to a neighbor that saw the flash of light, but she didnt see the fireball.

[ngc6656]

East to west is consistent with my findings as well.

The east to west motion quite likely rules out this being an object in orbit and re-entering Earth's atmosphere. My vote goes to fireball or bolide, whichever you prefer to call it.

[Jaysun]

Yes, I see...now that I remember it more clearly, it was nothing. I feel silly for mentioning it. Actually I don't know why I thought I saw something.

By the way, what are those men in sunglasses doing out front? By the Suburban with tinted windows. Oh, meter readers. OK.

LOL! Good man. Enjoy your life.

[RadioAstronomer]

There are retrograde orbits. But I tend to agree with you here.

[RadioAstronomer]

Unfortunately, I have neither. I am literally as much in the dark here as you are.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

I've seen the Perseids and random shooting stars; they are cool but uneventful. This thing lit up the sky like a helicopter with an arc lamp.

Yes, that's the kind of major visitor I saw.

[Coyoteman]

There are times at which concepts simple to some of us may not have received much attention to others. For example, I received some heavy but good-natured ribbing when I pronounced the "bicep" muscle as "biccup" (rhymes with hiccup). Did this make me sound ignorant, foolish and stupid? Yes. But from what did this mispronunciation result? From doing a lot of reading, but never hearing the word actually pronounced by someone.

So using my failure to differentiate a shooting star from a meteor as an attempt to impeach my scientific acumen is quite absurd.

Scientists abhor mistakes, and do their best to avoid making them. They are extra careful in what they say, and how well that is supported by their data.

Good scientists admit their mistakes and correct them as soon as possible. And I suspect many, or most, scientists remember every single mistake they ever made in a scientific context.

The very few scientists who fudge data or findings are run out of the profession immediately for this very reason.

You are still young, and there is a whole world of learning out there just waiting for you. Enjoy!

[Coyoteman]

You miss the point of my post. You write:

Oh, not me! I love to make mistakes and make myself look bad!

Nobody likes mistakes, but scientists go to great lengths to avoid them, even in threads like this. Its a matter of training and discipline. It leaks over from their professions, in which mistakes are to be avoided at all costs.

This is something you can learn. You are young and have the time to do so.