Comments on: Great Western Fireball… http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914 C.J. Cherryh's Own Weblog: e-books, science fiction and fantasy Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:16:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: smartcat http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914&cpage=1#comment-6234 smartcat Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:24:01 +0000 http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914#comment-6234 I'm really enjoying your info, Chondrite. I *think* back in the early to mid seventies when we were living near the coast I'm pretty sure we saw a meteor fall into the ocean late one night. As I recall the first thought was that a plane had crashed.....it was fast and loud....this was over thirty years ago and I have not thought of it until now...hmmmmm What strange things float up from our memories.....;) I’m really enjoying your info, Chondrite. I *think* back in the early to mid seventies when we were living near the coast I’m pretty sure we saw a meteor fall into the ocean late one night. As I recall the first thought was that a plane had crashed…..it was fast and loud….this was over thirty years ago and I have not thought of it until now…hmmmmm What strange things float up from our memories…..;)

]]> By: CJ http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914&cpage=1#comment-6224 CJ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:35:15 +0000 http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914#comment-6224 Time for an update: I'm going to do today's post on that topic. And welcome in! Time for an update: I’m going to do today’s post on that topic. And welcome in!

]]> By: CJ http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914&cpage=1#comment-6223 CJ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:31:57 +0000 http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914#comment-6223 http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news165.html The one that hit Indonesia in October was about 10 meters or 33 feet across. This one was probably a bit smaller. I have not a clue, but I would imagine that how much of it reaches the ground depends on a)density and composition and b)the angle of approach. There is data on one that sort of stitched through our atmosphere and kept going, as I recall. Some, like the Indonesian one, go bang before they actually hit the ground. I had a lovely program back when I was working on Heavy Time that allowed me to plot the behavior of real asteroids over time. They requested that if anybody developed data that showed a possible impact with anything, they report it---the program has some quirks in it, and results kind of depend on what area and time frame you're looking at. Well, I developed data showing Ceres getting smacked by something substantial in the next century---but to my intense frustration, I could never duplicate the result to get the actual numbers to send in. Ceres http://www.astrobio.net/pressrelease/1711/snowball-ceres is about 580 miles across, is rated as a planet-let, and may be a major part ice. If it does get smacked, it should produce a show, for sure. And, Chondrite, your information is fascinating. http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news165.html
The one that hit Indonesia in October was about 10 meters or 33 feet across. This one was probably a bit smaller. I have not a clue, but I would imagine that how much of it reaches the ground depends on a)density and composition and b)the angle of approach. There is data on one that sort of stitched through our atmosphere and kept going, as I recall. Some, like the Indonesian one, go bang before they actually hit the ground.

I had a lovely program back when I was working on Heavy Time that allowed me to plot the behavior of real asteroids over time. They requested that if anybody developed data that showed a possible impact with anything, they report it—the program has some quirks in it, and results kind of depend on what area and time frame you’re looking at. Well, I developed data showing Ceres getting smacked by something substantial in the next century—but to my intense frustration, I could never duplicate the result to get the actual numbers to send in. Ceres http://www.astrobio.net/pressrelease/1711/snowball-ceres is about 580 miles across, is rated as a planet-let, and may be a major part ice. If it does get smacked, it should produce a show, for sure.

And, Chondrite, your information is fascinating.

]]> By: Azureblu http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914&cpage=1#comment-6222 Azureblu Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:46:01 +0000 http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914#comment-6222 Well,don't blush for my sake,I find it fascinating and it beats the theory that somebody up there is throwing rocks at us! Well,don’t blush for my sake,I find it fascinating and it
beats the theory that somebody up there is throwing rocks
at us!

]]> By: chondrite http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914&cpage=1#comment-6220 chondrite Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:51:00 +0000 http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914#comment-6220 Even when a meteorite breaks apart on the way down, all the pieces tend to keep going in the same direction. Gravity and inertia make it like running the pieces through a sieve; the smallest ones fall out first, then larger and larger, until the biggest ones hit the ground last. This makes a generally elliptical fallout pattern called a strewnfield, which can be several miles along both axes with smaller bits at one end and the biggest chunks at the other. There was one unverified report that someone out hunting for arrowheads may have picked up a piece of the Utah fall outside the military reservation, but so far it's unsubstantiated. I apologize for monopolizing this discussion, it's just wind me up and let me go :blush: Even when a meteorite breaks apart on the way down, all the pieces tend to keep going in the same direction. Gravity and inertia make it like running the pieces through a sieve; the smallest ones fall out first, then larger and larger, until the biggest ones hit the ground last. This makes a generally elliptical fallout pattern called a strewnfield, which can be several miles along both axes with smaller bits at one end and the biggest chunks at the other.

There was one unverified report that someone out hunting for arrowheads may have picked up a piece of the Utah fall outside the military reservation, but so far it’s unsubstantiated.

I apologize for monopolizing this discussion, it’s just wind me up and let me go :blush:

]]> By: Azureblu http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914&cpage=1#comment-6219 Azureblu Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:28:42 +0000 http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914#comment-6219 As high up as it was and as big an explosion as it seems, wouldn't the shrapnel be pretty far flung,like a few hundred miles? As for it being over a military base,it isn't like the military to admit that something went a bit wrong with a test of some kind,so a mystery could be the end result. They said on a news station that it was the size of a stove according to current speculations. As high up as it was and as big an explosion as it seems,
wouldn’t the shrapnel be pretty far flung,like a few
hundred miles? As for it being over a military base,it
isn’t like the military to admit that something went a
bit wrong with a test of some kind,so a mystery could be
the end result. They said on a news station that it was
the size of a stove according to current speculations.

]]> By: ArcherP1 http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914&cpage=1#comment-6217 ArcherP1 Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:05:53 +0000 http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914#comment-6217 Hello CJ - haven't seen any updates on the book progress recently and was just wondering how that was coming? Also interested in the e-book store and any progress on that front. Obviously this post has nothing to do with the space stuff but this is my first post to this site and I didn't see any better place to put it. Please let me know if I should have put it somewhere else. Thanks. Hello CJ – haven’t seen any updates on the book progress recently and was just wondering how that was coming? Also interested in the e-book store and any progress on that front. Obviously this post has nothing to do with the space stuff but this is my first post to this site and I didn’t see any better place to put it. Please let me know if I should have put it somewhere else. Thanks.

]]> By: HRHSpence http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914&cpage=1#comment-6215 HRHSpence Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:15:05 +0000 http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914#comment-6215 That's interesting. Dugway is about 35 miles south and west of my high school. Interesting that the rock from space would fall on a military installation. That’s interesting. Dugway is about 35 miles south and west of my high school. Interesting that the rock from space would fall on a military installation.

]]> By: chondrite http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914&cpage=1#comment-6213 chondrite Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:13:42 +0000 http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914#comment-6213 Update: According to what is now being posted, any meteorites likely fell on the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, and meteorite hunters are not allowed to trespass there, as it is military property. My trajectory apparently was way off; I thought at first it was up around Idaho :) Update: According to what is now being posted, any meteorites likely fell on the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, and meteorite hunters are not allowed to trespass there, as it is military property. My trajectory apparently was way off; I thought at first it was up around Idaho :)

]]> By: chondrite http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914&cpage=1#comment-6212 chondrite Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:06:19 +0000 http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/?p=914#comment-6212 'Chondrites' are actually a feature of some meteorites. They are the primitive grains made when the solar system initially formed, and eventually coalesced into many of the rocky bodies. You can still see them in some stony meteorites. ‘Chondrites’ are actually a feature of some meteorites. They are the primitive grains made when the solar system initially formed, and eventually coalesced into many of the rocky bodies. You can still see them in some stony meteorites.

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