Wednesday, October 8, 2008

2008 TC3 Update - Impact Flash Imaged from Satellite

Impact Flash Imaged from Satellite

While ground pictures of the fireball are still missing (the event occurred in a remote area over northern Sudan), it looks like finally there is an image of the impact flash.

The explosion was imaged by the weather satellite Meteosat 8.

The image is available at SpaceWeather.com: http://tinyurl.com/3r2ool



According to J. Borovicka, Astronomical Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, the bright spot on the images taken by the weather satellite Meteosat 8 has been noticed by Z. Charvat. This bright spot likely corresponds to the atmospheric entry of 2008 TC_3 over northern Sudan (see - IAU Circular No. 8994).


Impactor 2008 TC3 entering Earth' shadow

Roughly one hour before expected atmospheric impact over northern Sudan, 2008 TC3 entered Earth' shadow becoming invisible until the impact.

The entry in the Earth' shadow has been imaged by La Sagra Sky Survey, Spain. Their nice image is here:



This image also shows a periodic light variation along the trail that indicates a fast rotation. The same effect is evident in the image obtained by italian astronomer Walter Boschin at the 3.58m diameter Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG):


by Ernesto Guido

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