Residents Report Bright Streak Over Bay Area Friday Evening 123
The Chabot Space and Science Center has received numerous reports of a bright object flying through the sky in over northern California Friday night, as noted by The Washington Post, NBC, and others. According to NBC's version of the story "Chabot astronomers in Oakland said the meteor was not related to the asteroid passing near Earth. Gerald McKeegan, an astronomer at Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, said he did not see it, but based on accounts he thinks it was a 'sporadic meteor.' Sporadic meteors bring as much as 15,000 tons of space debris to Earth each year, according to McKeegan. He said it was likely smaller than another meteor that landed in the Bay Area in October, which caused a loud sonic boom as it fell." The eyewitness accounts make it sound pretty spectacular, though; too bad we don't have quite as many dashcams going as there are in Russia.
Re:how cares about meteorites? (Score:5, Funny)
Russian dashcams are largely encouraged by insurance companies for that very reason. The problem is, if that were done in the US, the insurance companies would mandate a single very specific, very faulty model of dash camera (per insurance company) that doesn't fit in most cars, can be disabled via remote by any law enforcement official or Homeland Security member, is illegal for the end-user to even touch, is ungodly expensive for its functionality, encrypts and DRMs all its recorded video, and is designed to resist any form of accessing the video on it unless you're an employee of the insurance company. Otherwise, they can't trust it and won't believe any evidence gathered from it.
Re:how cares about meteorites? (Score:2, Funny)
My my. Just a tad paranoid, are we now?
So, what do you think the bright light was?
Global Warming and meteorites (Score:3, Funny)
(1) CO2 is a heavier gas than Oxygen and Nitrogen. Because of molecular forces, the increased number of CO2 molecules in the atmosphere are pulling down the whole atmosphere closer to earth's surface. Therefore, meteors that would normally have burnt up higher in the atmosphere are coming closer and closer to earth's surface before they burn up. Sometimes, though, they make it all the way because of the reduced distance over which to burn up.
(2) Increased CO2 is also leading to holes in the Ozone layer. This layer acts as a defensive shield. With more holes that are getting bigger in size, meteors are slipping through and reaching us.
(3) Scientists have postulated that increased planetary warmth and high concentration of CO2 on an earth-like planet may indicate the presence of an advanced civilization. They are actually using this theory to conduct SETI. It is possible that advanced aliens are doing the same. They have detected global warming on earth and are hurling meteors at earth and using it as a sounding board for their own SETI projects.
Re:how cares about meteorites? (Score:4, Funny)
Hmm, the new pope coming to claim his throne...?
Re:how cares about meteorites? (Score:5, Funny)
Makes sense. First one overshot and hit Russia, second undershot and hit US. They're going to calibrate for somewhere in the middle and fire for effect soon.
It's like 1950's all over again... (Score:4, Funny)
In unrelated news (Score:5, Funny)
In unrelated news, intelligence monitoring has picked up Kim Jong Un stating 'second test successful too!' followed by manaical laughter from his Starcraft-2 themed war-room.
Re:Terrible Software (Score:2, Funny)