Strange Flames on the International Space Station - June 21, 2013

Fire, it is often said, is mankind's oldest chemistry experiment.

For thousands of years, people have been mixing the oxygen-rich air of Earth with an almost endless variety of fuels to produce hot luminous flame.

Flames are hard to understand because they are complicated. In an ordinary candle flame, thousands of chemical reactions take place.

The familiar teardrop shape of the flame is an effect caused by gravity. Hot air rises and draws fresh cool air behind it. This is called buoyancy and is what makes the flame shoot up and flicker.

But what happens when you light a candle, say, on the International Space Station (ISS)?

In microgravity, flames burn differently—they form little spheres.

Recently, Williams and colleagues were doing an ISS experiment called "FLEX" to learn how to put out fires in microgravity when they came across something odd. Small droplets of heptane were burning inside the FLEX combustion chamber. As planned, the flames went out, but unexpectedly the droplets of fuel continued burning. They seemed to be burning without flames.

Ordinary, visible fire burns at a high temperature between 1500K and 2000K. Heptane flame balls on the ISS started out in this "hot fire" regime. But as the flame balls cooled and began to go out, a different kind of burning took over.

Cool flames burn at the relatively low temperature of 500K to 800K and their chemistry is completely different. Normal flames produce soot, CO2 and water. Cool flames produce carbon monoxide and formaldehyde.

It is possible that some unidentified flying orbs/spheres are related to ‘cool flame’ processes? sciencenasagov

 

Massive Fireball Explodes Over Japan - May 6, 2013 (Video)

On May 6th, 2013 a massive fireball exploded over Saitama Prefecture, Japan when a meteor entered the Earth's atmosphere and then reportedly broke up and turned into meteorites. On May 6th, 2013 a massive fireball exploded over Saitama Prefecture, Japan when a meteor entered the Earth's atmosphere and then reportedly broke up and turned into meteorites.

Here is the translated eye-witness report from contributors to the Sonotaco forum:

Equal to 10 explosion fireball Aquarius group of 17 seconds 58 minutes 3:06 May 2013. 6 minutes permanent scars. Results to 10 of the analysis was the best. However, the vanishing point side, the automatic analysis, position did not come out well. I was able to shoot two cameras. There was a flash to the other two. If I had to check the live image wake up in 55 minutes 3:00, so I noticed, it was confirmed persistent marks visually six minutes in the live image then. I capture the change of frame 10 degree mark in the middle. There was a fireball of over 5 equal to 6 seconds 9 minutes 4:00.

 

source: thecelestialconvergence , Andre Heath , sonotaco.jp

Amazing Fireball Falls From The Sky in Texas 2013

Amazing images of a Fireball that falls from the sky in Texas. The photographs were taken on December 13, 2012, by our regular reader Pamela Anderson.

Last December, Earth went through a a stream of debris from "rock comet" 3200 Phaethon and Comet Wirtanen. That time period was also the peak of the strong annual Geminid meteor shower.

We assume that the wonderful images are related to debris of the meteor shower of Comet Wirtanen / Geminid shower or is it something else? We would like to know your opinion.

Credit and author: Pamela Anderson

Meteor explodes in a ball of fire above Spain - Apr 15, 2013 (Video)

A brilliant ball of flame streaked across the sky above the Spanish capital Madrid, dazzling stargazers and astronomers alike.

The celestial display was so bright it could be seen across the entire country.

The eye-popping moment was caught on camera by the Hita Observatory at the University of Huelva at around 11:45pm local time (21:45 GMT).

The object struck the atmosphere above the Villamuelas district in the province of Toledo, southwest of Madrid.

The impact was so abrupt that the object immediately caught fire, creating a ball of flame around 100 kilometers above the Earth,” The meteor then shot towards Madrid at over 75,000 kilometers an hour before disintegrating completely at an altitude of 70 kilometers.

The explosion as the fireball entered the atmosphere sparked comparisons with the 500-kiloton explosion caused by the meteorite that fell over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in February.


source: RT

Green Fireball Burns Across California Sky - Feb, 2013

About 50 people contacted the American Meteor Society on Thursday with reports of a "green fireball" lighting up the sky. Sightings were reported in Ventura, Anaheim, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, Paso Robles, San Francisco and Santa Barbara, according to the group's website.

Photographer Susan Lary of the Southern California Weather Authority captured the so-called fireball and provided the image to NBC News.

"I saw a light and looked directly at the meteor as it came down in the ocean off Corona Del Mar. Bits came off, and it was bright white," Laguna Hills resident Patric Barry wrote in an email to NBC4.

Barry spotted the object out of his living room window about 10:35 p.m.x The sightings come days after Bay Area residents were treated to a light show of their own when a fireball was seen streaking across the sky.

Another fireball sighting was reported this month in Florida, but the most spectacular celestial event occurred when a meteor soared over Russia before the rock slammed into Earth's surface, sending shockwaves across a widespread area.