UK's Largest Meteorite to go on display

9/9/2012

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A meteorite which was discovered in Wiltshire and is considered to be the biggest to have fallen in the UK, is to go on display in Salisbury.

The 200lb (90kg) meteorite is thought to have been found in the 19th Century by Edward Duke, a previous owner of Lake House in Wilsford-cum-Lake.

Experts say the 1.6ft (0.5m) long rock landed on earth about 30,000 years ago.

The Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum is to display the meteorite for two weeks from Monday.

Experts believe the meteorite, known as a common chondrite, was preserved by the frozen conditions during the last ice age.

Thousands of years later it was built into a stone age burial mound close to Lake House. The local chalk environment would also have helped to preserve it.

It is understood that Duke, a well-known 19th Century archaeologist and excavator of mounds in the area, discovered it.

It sat by the door of Lake House for 80 years before the house was sold.

A Salisbury Museum spokesman said he was "thrilled" to display the meteorite, which has been in storage at the National History Museum for many years.

Source: BBC News

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August 27th 2012 - UK Meteor Reports

8/28/2012

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  • Date:
    2012-Aug-27
  • Time:
    2310 hrs (+/- 5 mins)
  • Location:
    Broadstone/Hungerford Shropshire
  • Report:
    Very large fireball glowing green/red/yellow with very long tail. Travelling NW-SE, appeared incredibly low and seemed to burn out directly above me. Other than that perfectly clear skies. Approximately 10-15 seconds after there was a very loud rumble, like a sonic boom but I thought this might be very distant thunder and not connected.

  • Date:
    2012-Aug-27
  • Time:
    10.55
  • Location:
    Billinge, looking towards St Helens
  • Report:
    Saw a yellow/orange fire ball with a green tail appear in the sky then disappeared as if it burned it's self out in a ball of fire. At first thought fireworks but appeared from no where and was completely silent. Facing south the object travelled from right to left, west to east, about a third of the way between tehe horizon and zenith and was visible for about two seconds.

  • Date:
    2012-Aug-27
  • Time:
    11 30 ish
  • Location:
    Douglas Isle of Man
  • Report:
    Big burning fireball at speed going low and bright through the sky, noticed it from my window it was open there was noise from it i thought it was a plane going down at first but the ball carried on too quick till it went out of my sight it headed towards the sea. What is it was very fast big and bright close and low in the sky.

  • Date:
    2012-Aug-27
  • Time:
    23.20
  • Location:
    Heath Hayes, Staffordshire
  • Report:
    I was lying in bed looking out at the moon and the sky was partially cloudy. A very bright light light appeared from my right hand side traveling from north to south which seemed to have a greenish / blue colour as it sped at an unbelievable speed across the sky. It all happened so quickly as it kept disappearing behind the clouds but still gave off a very bright glow. I would guess I saw it for about 3 seconds. A pretty awesome sight and never seen anything like it before.

  • Date:
    2012-Aug-27
  • Time:
    23.20
  • Location:
    Heath Hayes, Staffordshire
  • Report:
    I was lying in bed looking out at the moon and the sky was partially cloudy. A very bright light light appeared from my right hand side traveling from north to south which seemed to have a greenish / blue colour as it sped at an unbelievable speed across the sky. It all happened so quickly as it kept disappearing behind the clouds but still gave off a very bright glow. I would guess I saw it for about 3 seconds. A pretty awesome sight and never seen anything like it before.

  • Date:
    2012-Aug-27
  • Time:
    23:10 - 15 ish
  • Location:
    North Bristol (SW UK)
  • Report:
    Cloud lit up very bright overhead, from cloud emerged very bright white ball with long bright tail travelling approx SW to NE very quickly grew more orange and began giving off orange bursts as tail shrank, fragmented to a quick lived orange shower approx 25-30 degrees above NNE horizon (above south Gloucestershire). There was no sound distinguishable. The whole event took maybe 5 seconds. I would guess that initially the fireball was brighter than full moon, though quickly diminishing. I saw it travel across approx 40 deg of the sky.

  • Date:
    2012-Aug-27
  • Time:
    23.20 +/- 5 mins
  • Location:
    Edgmond, Shropshire TF10 8LH
  • Report:
    Looking towards the moon, which was quite low in the sky, just above trees opposite the house - so facing about SSW. Bright fireball appearing to be nearly the same size as the moon with yellow sparks off it and appearing to emanate from just above the moon travelling from right to left and slightly downwards where it fizzled out and disappeared still in the sky, low above the horizon within less than a second(but with no sound - so not a firework and there weren't any in the area). I saw it travel over about 30-40 degrees of the sky (but did not see exactly where it started from - may have been visible further to the right of the moon but I had only just stepped outside!)That area of the sky had only patchy or hazy bits of cloud. It had been raining earlier but had now stopped. (NB we are nearish to RAF Cosford but there was no sound of any aircraft at the time)
    • Date:
      2012-Aug-27
    • Time:
      about 11:20pm
    • Location:
      Topsham, Devon
    • Report:
      At first I couldn't figure out what I was seeing, thoughts of shooting stars and burning planes went through my mind. Unlike a shooting star it appeared very close to Earth and really looked on fire with a long burning orange and white tail behind it. The leading part looked light a yellow-white ball of fire and it moved quickly and silently low across the sky before disappearing behind the trees at the end of our garden, looking as though it would fall into fields behind. It moved from the North East towards the East. It must have been visible for about 5 seconds and it never really faded and didn't appear to break up. It was low in the sky, not that far above the horizon line of our garden wall. It's ball looked as bright as the full moon on a clear night and it's trail appeared to fluctuate. I saw it travel about 80 degrees across the sky. Quite the most extraordinary and awesome thing I have ever seen in the night sky.
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27 August 2012 - Meteor Reports

8/28/2012

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  • 2012-Aug-27
  • Time:
    11:15PM BST
  • Location:
    Caerleon, Newport, Wales NP18 1NT
  • Report:
    FIREBALL SIGHTING JEFF PRESTON 11:15PM (BST) MON AUG 27 2012 CAERLEON NEWPORT WALES UK NP18 1NT Whilst looking Northeast. Path was W to E, beginning NW and ending ENE. It ran below the "W" of Cassiopeia and ended just after passing from left to right below it. Path was about 60 degrees elevation down to around 40. Approx 10 times brighter than Venus - am amateur astronomer - I know how bright Venus is. Flight path about 3 seconds. Flew across approx one quarter of sky. Green surrounded by orange and red. I heard a distinct boom long after the fireball - perhaps 30 to 50 seconds later. Almost no cloud in sky - not thunder. It was breaking up as I watched it. What I saw reminded me of the films of the Space Shuttle breaking up on re-entry with pieces breaking off and flying alongside the fireball. It faded away to nothing - appearing to have burnt up. END OF REPORT.
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METEORITE EXPLODES OVER SOUTH WALES UK

8/28/2012

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United Kingdom   EDIS Code: CO-20120828-36360-GBR 
Date&Time: 2012-08-28 08:07:43 [UTC] 
Continent: Europe Country: United Kingdom 
State/Prov.: Wales, Location: , City:   
Not confirmed information!

  
Description: A meteorite the size of a golf ball exploded over South Wales last night, according to reports. At around 11.10pm, people across the UK reported seeing a bright light travelling across the skies. Police said they were not aware of the incident, but dozens of Twitter users and people on meteor forum Meteorite News said the bright light stayed within view for between three and eight seconds as it travelled. Nathan Jones from St Athan, writing on Meteorite News, said: “After about eight seconds I lost line of sight due to houses. “I saw an object, I can’t specify what, with a heat trail behind. It was orange and white and very bright, and also seemed very close, not that I could see. “Never seen something so amazing in my life. It looked like it was skimming through the atmosphere due to the curved path it was taking.” Hannah Sabido said it looked like a “bright white ball with a long bright tail and possibly a green hue”. She said: “It became more orange towards the North East, giving off orange sparks before bursting out. “There was no sound distinguishable above background. It began brighter than the moon. It was first noticed as a very bright glowing light behind cloud, ravelling very fast.” T Doran, of New Brighton, Wirral, Merseyside, wrote: “We were on the beach walking towards the sea wall, facing the South East and it travelled from right to left across the sky. “It just appeared in the sky, then the view was obscured by the sea wall. “It was silent, a large orange and white globe with a long straight green tail.”

IF YOU SAW THE METEOR LAST NIGHT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU COULD LEAVE COMMENTS.
IF YOU HAVE FOUND WHAT YOU THINK MAY BE A PIECE OF THIS METEORITE PLEASE LEAVE DETAILS
OF NAME, LOCATION AT TIME OF SIGHTING AND A CONTACT EMAIL

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