Guest essay by Eric Worrall
No harm was done on that occasion – but this is certainly another reminder that the world is at more serious risks than a slight shake in global temperature.
Dorset Sonic Boom Accuses Fireball Meteor
An “extremely rare” meteor known as the daytime fireball has been blamed for a boom-boom-type sound that can be heard in parts of England.
People in Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Jersey reported hearing a loud bang and seeing a streak of light in the sky on Saturday afternoon.
After analyzing images and videos, experts confirmed that they showed a meteor.
You have asked humans to keep an eye on the fallen fragments of the space rock and report them.
Simon Proud, a specialist in aeronautical meteorology at Oxford University, flew the meteor – which appeared as a bright flash – on a weather satellite over Great Britain.
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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-56475333
Two major meteors have also passed Earth in the past week, including a 900-meter monster that could wreak catastrophic damage if it ever hit the planet.
Meteors are low risk, potentially high impact events. The risk of a dinosaur killer or a smaller impactor causing widespread damage without destroying the biosphere is very small. But, as Chelyabinsk residents found out in 2013, even a small meteor can shake your day.
Another notable event was the East Mediterranean Event, a nuclear blast of air caused by a meteor that struck the atmosphere on June 6, 2003. The event occurred in the middle of a heated confrontation between India and Pakistan. Concerns have been raised that if the meteor had struck 3,000 miles east across the India-Pakistan border, it might have been mistaken for a nuclear first strike.
The sad thing is that the possibility of a Tunguska-scale meteor accidentally destroying a major city or even causing a devastating nuclear exchange is a risk we could actually afford – at least to the extent that more surveillance is funded.
The following is my favorite meteor video – high quality footage shot in Lapland.
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