Skywatch Media News for November the 15th 2019 the near-earth flyby of large
asteroids as well as the numbers of atmospheric meteor explosions are
happening more frequently with each passing year the number of actual
fireball sightings has increased exponentially since the year 2011 with
2019 on track to break the previous year's total sightings the numbers of
NEO's has also increased exponentially in the past two decades with at least
1,800 considered as potentially dangerous to earth on November the 11th
a flaming rock streaked across the nighttime sky over Missouri the
jaw-dropping meteor fireball was spotted from Columbia to St. Charles County and
into the city of St. Louis before disappearing into the night over the
famed Gateway Arch the slow-moving meteor began to emerge at roughly 8:45
p.m. Central time with some residents reporting that the flashing rock was
accompanied- by the sound of a loud boom according to the American meteor Society
the fireball was witnessed by residents across 13 Central and Midwestern states
our planet appears to be entering into a sector of space with a high density of
cosmic debris yet another large asteroid this one measuring between 360 and 780
feet in diameter flew past earth on November the 13th traveling at a speed
of nearly 65,000 miles per hour the Space Agency kept a close eye on this
space rock because of its classification as a near-earth object this asteroid
came within 4 lunar distances of the earth which is relatively close in space
terms what is so concerning about these NEO's is that the slightest change in
their trajectory could spell real trouble for planet Earth nowadays it
seems as if we are bombarded by stories of close encounters with asteroids from
a variety of astronomical institutions thanks to advanced technology it has
become much easier to detect or discover thousands of asteroids within the main
belt or inside the orbit of Mars but they weren't always that easy to detect
and even today there are some space rocks that avoid detection right up
until the moment of their flyby in the year 1900 asteroid discoveries numbered
in the hundreds but by the year 1950 that number had multiplied to almost
2,000 including several that crossed Earth's path by the turn of the
millennia the number had reached a staggering 86 thousand a current map of
known asteroids in the inner solar system has now reached into the hundreds
of thousands including objects ranging from a few meters all the way up to the
size of a dwarf planet to say that these are dangerous times would certainly be
an understatement the number of known asteroids at points
in time over the past 20 years is quite astonishing as depicted in this solar
system animation
we are often mesmerized by these spectacles that appear in the sky
whether they be small or large they almost always strike our curiosity but
back in the nineteenth century an event took place from the sky that virtually
terrified all those who witnessed the event on November the 12th of the Year
1833 a calm and clear evening sky exploded as meteors rained down upon
America's Deep South plantation owners and workers alike had thought that the
world was about to end a Victorian astronomer named Agnes Clerke described
that special evening in her journal she went on to write that the sky was
scored in every direction with shining tracks and illuminated with majestic
fireballs in Alabama the Florence Gazette newspaper described the event as
thousands of luminous bodies shooting across the firmament in every direction
along the banks of the Missouri River Mormons who were persecuted and driven
from their homes watched the meteor storm as Joseph Smith the founder of the
Church of latter-day saints wrote in his diary proclaiming the event as a sign of
the second coming on that night several Native American nations observed the
celestial spectacle some of them resetting their calendar to commemorate
the grand event it was such an extraordinary occurrence in many places
that paintings depicting the scene provided a glimpse into what many
thought was the Judgment Day the riveting story now retold of one
african-american slave woman named Amanda Young in her own words describes
the event big stars coming down real close to the ground and just before they
hit they would burn up we were all scared
some of the folks were screaming and some were praying we all made so much
noise the white folks came out to see what was happening they looked up and
then they got scared too the white folks started calling all of
us together to tell us who our mothers and our fathers were who they had been
sold to and where they made sure we knew what had happened they thought it was
the Judgment Day the meteor event of 1833 is an
incredible story of an event that sparked fear in the souls of all those
who witnessed it but that night of the falling stars also established a desire
for moral restitution in the 186 years since the Leonids put on that
spectacular show across the deep south it is still being remembered as the
night the stars fell from the sky every year in mid-november we pass through the
tremendous meteor cloud left behind by the comet tempel-tuttle every year can
be seen impressive displays but it's every 33 years that this comet makes its
orbit around the Sun leaving behind more cosmic debris like that night so long
ago when the stars fell to earth there will be another meteor storm displaying
thousands of streaks of light throughout the night the next one predicted to
occur in the year 2034 when that moment arrives there will be people from
all around reporting their experiences in these tumultuous times
always remember to look ahead people who look down never gain the beauty of the
sky or the knowledge it contains they will not know the setting of the stars
or be uplifted by its shining light it will serve you well if you can
get your eyes off the ground and look upwards thanks for watching