Strange night sky phenomenon
 

Last night I, my girlfriend, my good friend (and subsimer, even if now he doesn't hang around much) and his girlfriend were returning to our town after a seeing a show in Coimbra (university city of Portugal). We were on the freeway when I saw flash over the horizon, in the sky, like a lighting, and though and said that a thunder storm is over our town or over sea.
Then I look out the window car and I can see the sky full of stars and there were no thunder storm weather characteristics! But then our girlfriends (who were in front) said that what they saw was something doing a white line, falling from the sky (descending trajectory) and exploded (the flash that I saw). First they thought of fire works, but only one and descending.
So we thought of a shooting star.
Is there some internet site where events like meteorites are register or something like this?

Here is one although its the "American" version I believe they observe the entire planet.

http://www.amsmeteors.org/

Autumn is meteorite season.

The description of the explosion gets my attention. That is a hint that it could have been what in German is called a "Bolide" or "Superbolide". That are meteorites of 1-10cm in diameter that typically create a huge cloud of spraying sparks, making them very visible, and at the end of their survival time in atmosphere explode when totally desintegrating. The light they create can be brighter than that of a full moon. Their tail could last in the sky long after their meteorite has desintegrated (up to over a minute), and sometimes even a thundering sound can be heared. This type of meteorite sometimes is named Feuerball (fireballs). Normal meoteorites to be observed just disappear, without visible explosion and any noise.

Bollides like this are very rare incidents to be observed, most meterorites are not of this type. Unknowing eye witnesses sometimes mistake them with missile shots and the warhead going off in midair.

Or it could be invaders from another planet!:hmmm: ..... Yes, that's what it is!:cry::doh:

Falling meteor most likely. Me & my brother saw similar thing some years back at our cottage. Shooting star went under the horizon and there was a flash, pretty cool I must say. :yep:

And maybe a month ago I saw a shooting start that lasted from 6 to 8 seconds, was cool too. :salute:

I saw one simular to your experience when i was a kid,on newyearseve.

Most amazing thing i ever saw,especially as it was travelling at relatively slow speed across my field of view it must have lasted about 10 seconds or something..and it was definately no fireworks it was very high up in the atmosphere.My theory is that it bounced of the atmosphere and was slowed down dramatically,the enormous heat from the friction burned it up.It must have been really big because i could see it with the naked eye.

I guess you were lucky to see one,i spend hours outside in the meteor shower season only to see one an hour at most,and they are all in a blink of an eye sightings.

I remember watching a slow moving meteor burn up during the daylight once, that was pretty awesome :up:

No Reece, because first, they would not choose Portugal. After a period of time, they would go nuts about living here. Secondly, they already try it, but we mistake a contact of an alien being to the aparition of the virgin mary talking to 3 little shepeards...:O:

I only saw meteorites doing "flares" and "long tails" in one of those famous shooting stars phenomenons from time to time, this one I was 12 or 13. My grandmother remembers one from she was a child and saw it again. I only saw "normal" ones (small, like very tiny comets in the sky) and saw once object that did a bue trail.
Like this, never, but I saw the flash, the girls are the lucky ones, they saw everything!
Thanks for the awnsers!

Pooh, I was sure I was right!!:doh:

Meteorite.
They can be bright enough to cast shadows.

yea... I saw something similar to this afiew years ago... during the day, when we were on the road.

I looked up, and there was a big streek of flameing bright yellow thing going through the sky horizontaly, at high speeds.:yep:

Zombies of the stratosphere no doubt.:yep:

Could have been an Anti-Matter meteor, like the one that hit Siberia just before WWI.

You mean Tunguska? Well it wasn't an anti-matter meteor. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here!

All depends on the amount of Anti-Matter and how its is distrubeted. See an Anti-Matter explosion can destroy Anti-Matter it dosn't chain react, a small amount of A/M explodes and vaporizes the rest of the A/M which is why A/M isn't really good for weaponizing (imagin building 1,000 minature H-Bombs in one warhead just so all the A/M impacts Matter at the same time!)

Also don't forget there was just as much matter in the Tunguska metorite as A/M since when A/M is formed just as much matter is produced. (The Law of Baryon Number Conservation)