Comments on: Where Are the Images from Asteroid 2008 TC3?

By: Dark Gnat

Dark Gnat — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:59:46 +0000

Woops, wrong topic – too many windows open!

By: Dark Gnat

Dark Gnat — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:58:32 +0000

It will be interesting to see if these features will remain once the planet's axis changes in relation to the sun.

If the seasons change, then will the storms "reverse" poles, so to speak?

Exciting times!

By: Zumthie

Zumthie — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:52:24 +0000

Can anyone make a screenshot of the liveview of the webcam in El Gouna tonight? I cannot connect to the webcam. Now we have full moon and it could be interesting to see what the illumination difference is.
http://www.kitepower-elgouna.com/de/el_gouna/webcam/

Thank you

By: Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:36:53 +0000

Zumthie-
Thanks for adding the link for the animation! Very interesting.
Nancy

By: Zumthie

Zumthie — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:17:03 +0000

I made the screenshots from the El Gouna webcam. And I can say that Don Alexander is right. The tiny spot in middle of the image could be a light somewhere from the coast on the other side of the Red Sea. It is not even a star or a ship, because the light was fixed for hours.
I made an update of my webpage and you can also see an animation of some screenshots here:
http://home.pages.at/thie/asteroid_2008_tc3/animation.html

By: Nick Bailey

Nick Bailey — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:23:43 +0000

For interest the link give daylight shots from the same webcam. Taking a look at the shadows cast I would say that the view is in a northeasterly direction. Measuring from Google Earth, this beach site is about 740 miles north-north-east from the explosion site.

http://www.kitepower-elgouna.com/webcam/webcam-archive/index.php

By: C. Webster Rose

C. Webster Rose — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:22:53 +0000

Please send anymore images of TC3 to my email address.

Thank You
C. Webster Rose

By: Kullat Nunu

Kullat Nunu — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:14:11 +0000

There seems to be some confusion between an asteroid and meteoroid. Let's repeat:

* meteoroid: a rock in space smaller than asteroid
* meteor: the bright event caused by a meteoroid falling through atmosphere with a cosmic speed (bolide = a very bright meteor)
* meteorite: a rock survived from an atmospheric entry

By: Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:53:57 +0000

Thank you Don for that correction. One source I read indicated the asteroid was the bright spot, but other sources do in fact indicate the objects on the beach were illuminated by the flash. The text has been corrected.
Nancy

By: Don Alexander

Don Alexander — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:47:54 +0000

I must correct the first paragraph!

The webcam is actually pointing in the wrong direction, across the red sea. The little dot in the middle is not the asteroid.

The effect is that the asteroid fireball lit up the scenery strongly, illuminating the buildings for a few seconds. The beach itself is hardly illuminated, indicating a light source close to the horizon. Furthermore, the webpage states that as colors are readily visible in the images, the brightness must have been equal to that of the full moon or more.

One does wonder that now one was outside looking south…