Fireballs flying in formation: Clues to 100-year-old mystery found

[Grey Havoc]

http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/22/17058890-fireballs-flying-in-formation-clues-to-100-year-old-mystery-found

It may be the ultimate cosmic cold case, but the 100-year-old mystery of a huge group of fireballs flying in formation through Earth's atmosphere is finally a bit closer to being solved, scientists say.

By sifting through the archival records from the meteor procession that took place on Feb. 9, 1913, sleuthing stargazers pieced together the surprisingly large path of the rare astronomical event.

From Canada to Brazil, observers watched as hundreds of meteors streaked across the sky, but this wasn't any ordinary annual meteor shower. Because these meteors were traveling nearly parallel to the surface of the Earth, each piece of space dust and rock stayed visible for about a minute as each burned up in Earth's atmosphere. The procession lasted for several minutes.

"To most observers, the outstanding feature of the phenomenon was the slow, majestic motion of the bodies; and almost equally remarkable was the perfect formation which they retained," said Clarence Chant, a University of Toronto astronomer who observed the procession in 1913.

But 100 years later, scientists were still missing a piece of the astronomical puzzle. No one knew exactly how wide-reaching the meteor procession was.

 

[foiling]

I found this very interesting because of something that I witnessed several years ago, although the above description doesn't tell me enough to confirm that it is the same phenomenon. I was in my (suburban) back garden at about 22h30 or later, just relaxing and off an on gazing up at the stars of the Southern Hemisphere in a clear sky. I noticed almost directly above me a series of 5 lights flying in formation, one behind the other. They were each approximately the size & luminosity of a large star, or slightly smaller than Venus. They were very evenly spaced apart, and from the first to last they measured about the length of Orion's Belt or slightly more. They moved in seemingly perfect harmony, at the speed I would imagine an airliner at that height would travel, and I could not hear a sound. Had it been some kind of aircraft, I would surely have heard the engines; and there were no flashing lights that I could detect. I watched them cover a fairly short distance before they became too small to see anymore.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what it might be?

 

[kcran567]

I found this very interesting because of something that I witnessed several years ago, although the above description doesn't tell me enough to confirm that it is the same phenomenon. I was in my (suburban) back garden at about 22h30 or later, just relaxing and off an on gazing up at the stars of the Southern Hemisphere in a clear sky. I noticed almost directly above me a series of 5 lights flying in formation, one behind the other. They were each approximately the size & luminosity of a large star, or slightly smaller than Venus. They were very evenly spaced apart, and from the first to last they measured about the length of Orion's Belt or slightly more. They moved in seemingly perfect harmony, at the speed I would imagine an airliner at that height would travel, and I could not hear a sound. Had it been some kind of aircraft, I would surely have heard the engines; and there were no flashing lights that I could detect. I watched them cover a fairly short distance before they became too small to see anymore.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what it might be?

I saw something similar to what you described (recently) about 21:00 hours just last week. No formation. Just a single "star colored" object, appeared very large though there was no way for me to estimate size. Thought it was an airliner at first, until upon further watching it had no blinking lights whatsoever, strong oval shape, no sound whastoever. moved across the sky at what appeared to be airliner speed, but no way to judge its altitude. Strangly, did not curve with the earth, just appeared to continue heading straight direction out into space from my field of view and could no longer be seen. Very different from an airliner or any satellite i've observed.