Did a Comet strike the Earth in 540 A.D. ?

By Craig: Fireballs and asteroids have received a lot of attention over the last ten days or so. First there was the Siberian meteor, and then the near miss of Asteroid da14 on Friday last. Although my knowledge of fireballs, comets, and meteors is primarily on the historical side, I do know a little bit about the statistics that relate to these otherworldly cosmic bodies. For instance, some of the news reports have erroneously stated that the 2013 Siberian fireball was the largest meteor to enter the earth's atmosphere since the Tunguska blast of 1908. This is wrong. First, there is no concrete evidence that the Tunguska event was the result of a meteor impact. Second, another Siberian fireball, the Sikhote-Alin meteor of 1947 was estimated to have been in the neighborhood of 70 tonnes. As of now estimates regarding the 2013 Siberian meteor range from 10 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes (which I find kind of hard to believe.)

       I have previously written on this blog, and on my website www.fireballhistory.com about historical encounters with fireballs. I have seen a few wild ones in my many years of looking up at the night sky. On the evening of January 24, 2007 at approximately 1950 hours I observed a large bright green bolide in the north-eastern sky. I had a clear view of the meteor and watched it for a good eight seconds or so before it completely disappeared, as if someone had turned off a light switch. I estimate that it's apparent magnitude was about -11 or -12 which is about as bright as the full moon. Other people reported the bolide, and the newspapers soon got hold of it. It found it's way to the Drudge Report, and even the late night talk show Coast-to-Coast. It was the brightest meteor that I had ever seen, and I have seen a few bright ones over the years.

      As spectacular as this bolide was back in 2007, it was nothing compared to what a lot of Russians observed last week in the Ural mountains of Siberia. However, this latest Siberian impact event can not even compare to what this planet has encountered in the past. Even the Tunguska event which has been estimated to be a blast 1000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima would be considered a chump relative to what could one day strike the earth. In fact, "COULD" is not being really accurate. One day in the future a random fragment from space "WILL" careen into our planet destroying civilization as we now know it. When this event will occur is not known. Comet's routinely enter the inner solar system, and the historical, and archaeological records show (even in recorded history) that cometary debris has struck the earth. The year 540 A.D. (or possibly 541) seems to be a good candidate for a possible encounter with a comet. The chronicler Roger of Wendover records that "there appeared a comet in Gaul, so vast that the whole sky seemed on fire." It is also recorded that "blood fell from the heavens, and a great mortality ensued." Irish chroniclers also took note of the dreadful mortality that took place at around this time. The author and Dendrochronologist Mike Baillie who is the author of the book, Exodus to Arthur: Catastrophic Encounters With Comets has made note of growth reduction in the tree rings of European oaks and North American bristlecone pines suggesting that some widespread global event took place around this time. Did the earth have a close interaction with a comet? The jury is still deliberating on this one.

The 2013 Siberian Fireball

By Craig: I don't know what it is about Siberia. For some reason, perhaps known only to the Tungus God, Ogdy, another great fireball has streaked across the sky. Unlike the great Tunguska fireball of 1908, or the Sikhote-Alin fireball of 1947 this one was caught on camera by numerous people. Of course, in 1908 and 1947 cameras with the ability to instantaneously capture an event as it was happening were rare and almost non existent. The 2013 meteor met it's demise over the Ural mountains in Southern Siberia.

2013 Siberian Meteor

                                                            1947 Sikhote-Alin Meteor

                                                              1908 Tunguska Event

      The meteor broke apart in the stratosphere about 25 miles above the earth's surface early this morning. Witness' state that the fireball was as bright as the sun, and footage confirms these reports. As of now it is not certain how large the meteor was, but some sources including the Russian Academy of Science say that it was perhaps 10 tonnes, and about 50 feet long. It is believed that the meteor was of the iron type. In the city of Chelyabinsk the shock wave blew out windows in buildings causing numerous injuries. A large fragment of the meteorite was thought to have landed in a lake near the town of Chebarkul, not far from Chelyabinsk. According to the BBC, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a rescue and recovery party to assist people who have been effected by the blast. In a startling coincidence (or perhaps not) asteroid 2012DA, a moderate size near-earth object measuring about 150 feet across, passed within 17,000 miles from the earth today.

www.fireballhistory.com

Battles and Dragons in the Ancient Sky

By Craig: Imagine living in an age before airplanes, weather balloons, helicopters, and, well ok...drones. For most of recorded history this was the way things were, so if a person happened to look up in the sky and see something other than clouds, the moon,  the stars, or the sun, what might that person think? It has been only a little more than a century since the Wright brothers got off the ground at Kitty Hawk. Before this time humans had ventured up into the sky in balloons, but these were rare occasions, and they were for the most part well publicized events. Before the 18th century an airship would have been looked upon as some sort of magic, or perhaps the god's playing tricks! It is interesting to see how our ancestors treated these anomalies from the sky. Meteors were often interpreted as dragons in the air, while aurora's were seen as great battles in the sky.

523 A.D. Strange sights were seen of dragons,lions and other furious wild beasts fighting in the air.

540 (541) A.D. Roger of Wendover records "there appeared a comet in Gaul, so vast that the whole sky seemed on fire. In the same year there dropped real blood from the clouds...and a dreadful mortality ensued.

555 A.D. There was seen the appearance of lances in the north-west quarter of the heavens. (Roger of Wendover)

655 A.D. Fire fell from heaven and great fear came upon men. (The Annals of Waverley)

793 A.D. In this year dire forewarnings came over the land of the Northumbrians, and miserably terrified the people, these were excessive whirlwinds and lightnings, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the air. A great famine soon followed these tokens. (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle)

945 A.D. From the Chronicon Scotorum: Two fiery columns were seen a week before Allhallowtide which illuminated the whole world.

www.fireballhistory.com

The Anonymous Earthlings

By Craig: The man lived many centuries ago. He was a humble man who lived in a small cottage with his wife and children. He was a blacksmith by trade, and spent many a day standing at the forge. Was he sharpening a blade? Perhaps he was fitting some shoes for a neighbors horse? No, wait, he might be making a suit of armor for one of the Duke's knights! It was nearly dark but the glow from the forge along with an open flame nearby cast his burly medieval shadow on the stone wall behind him. His apprentice, a young man barely removed from his teens operated the belows as the blacksmith swung his mighty hammer.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The mighty hammer fell bending the iron to the blacksmith's will.

The blacksmith's wife was also humble. She spent her days raising the children and keeping house. Was one of the children sick today? She would be making a trip to the apothecary. Her calloused hands added more lye to the barrel where the linen lay soaking in water. She took hold of the big wooden stick that resembled a paddle.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! The paddle went round and round moving the linen to the washerwoman's will.

The children played in the yard. A young girl, perhaps 3 or 4 cuddled with a doll on the stone steps in front of the cottage, while her older brother and sister sat down for a game of marbles. "No fair!" cried the girl to her brother as he scooped up one of her marbles outside of the circle.

Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! The marbles went as they traveled through the circle moving in the direction of the children's will.

These were the ancestors of old. Your ancestors, my ancestors. Most of them are nameless, yet they lived in a more remote time. Like us they busied themselves with the mundane chores of everyday life.  They were living people. They ate, they drank, they worked, they slept, they laughed, they cried, they aged... they were us, and one day we will be them...anonymous earthlings who perpetuated the species...soon lost through the vast infinite highway of time.