Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of
our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief
explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 October 1
Explanation: Jon Burnett, a teenager from South Wales, UK, was
photographing some friends skateboarding last week when the sky
did something very strange. By diverting his camera, he was able
to document this rare sky event and capture one of the more
spectacular sky images yet recorded. Roughly four minutes later,
he took another picture of the dispersing trail. What is it?
Experts disagree. The first guess was a sofa-sized rock that
exploded as a daytime fireball, but perhaps a better hypothesis
is an unusual airplane contrail reflecting the setting Sun.
Bright fireballs occur over someplace on Earth nearly every day.
A separate bolide, likely even more dramatic, struck India only
a few days ago. Authors & editors: NASA Web Site Statements,
Warnings, and Disclaimers NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific
rights apply. A servic