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Big Bend Fireball (Not)

The object in the upper right corner of this Dec. 29th photo from the Big Bend National Park looks remarkably like the Big Bend fireball of Dec. 15th. Is the National Park being bombarded by debris from space? Probably not. These meteors are simply glints of morning sunlight on the lens of the park's webcam. At this time of year they should appear each morning in roughly the same area of the image, provided that the camera is not moved. A 100 kb gif animation contributed by reader Kevin Palivec shows a sequence of webcam images spanning approximately 45 minutes on Dec. 29th; the "fireball" moves backwards across the sky! See also: Current View | Dec. 15th Fireball Report

Webcam View of Sierra del Carmen in Mexico from Big Bend National Park
Dec. 29, 2000, 9:48 AM CST

Courtesy of the National Park Service