What was that in the sky?

December 14, 2006 2:34 PM

What was that in the Boston sky?

What did I just see shooting across the sky in Boston (about 5pm 12/14)? It looked like a comet, large white ball with a tail, I watched it for about 5 seconds before it disappeared. I can't be sure but I would say it was going NorthWest. I have never seen anything like it in my life.

posted by InkaLomax to science & nature (8 comments total)

I don't know, but I saw something similar over Dallas about two weeks ago and was going to ask mefi.
posted by Monkey0nCrack at 2:37 PM on December 14, 2006

Quite likely a Geminid meteor... today is the peak of the shower, I think.
posted by pjern at 2:38 PM on December 14, 2006

I don't know either, but I saw something similar over San Francisco on Thanksgiving, and thought about asking. It was headed in the same direction.
posted by trip and a half at 2:39 PM on December 14, 2006

If it goes across the entire sky, then it's almost certainly a piece of reentering space junk.

Meteors arrive at all sorts of angles. But long term space junk had to be in orbit, and when the orbit decays, it ends up as a glowing meteor which flys sideways. It often glows in bright colors as various kinds of metals are vaporized.

Space Junk: It's Raining Boosters!
posted by billb at 3:53 PM on December 14, 2006

Hm. Actually saw something similar last summer while driving from Virginia Beach to Richmond. I'll buy the space junk theory, I guess.
posted by lalalana at 5:03 PM on December 14, 2006

Could it have anything to do with this? They said the northern lights should be visible in the Northern US due to a solar storm.
posted by any major dude at 5:14 PM on December 14, 2006

Weird, I was driving up I93 into NH at exactly that time and my 5 year old son looked out the window and said "A shooting star!"

I just fluffed it off... Turns out I probably shoulda looked!
posted by Thrillhouse at 5:55 PM on December 14, 2006

It could also have been an Iridium flare. Those look like they have tails on both sides, though.

Thrillhouse: I remember driving the family car on a trip to Florida one year. Everybody else in the car was able to see a meteor off the passenger side, but I totally missed it because of the roof.
posted by dhartung at 11:10 PM on December 14, 2006