Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Meteorite

A fireball seen shooting through the skies above parts of Ireland on Wednesday evening has been captured on Dublin Bay webcam, passing over Dublin Bay and Dun Laoghaire Harbour. 

The fireball was a meteor, experts have said. The observed portion of the trajectory covered over 300 km.

It appeared high in the sky at Dun Laoghaire for just a few seconds. before 10 pm and appeared to plunge seawards in flashes of light green colours to observers on the south Dublin Bay shoreline. 

The UK Meteor Network said it had received almost 800 reports after the blazing orb that was spotted in the night sky over Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland on Wednesday evening.

Watch the asteroid particle appear top left of frame in the youtube vid below and move right to left as it passes by Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

The UK scientists said the object, which lasted more than 20 seconds, was "definitely a meteor", adding "we are now 100% confident this was a small part of an asteroid".

The network said the end of the meteor's journey was not observed on camera, but that it ended over the north Atlantic Ocean, some 50-100km west of the Isle of Islay, the southern-most island of the Inner Hebrides.

An updated tweet from the organisation read: "It (the meteor) came on an asteroidal orbit and entered the atmosphere at 14.2 km/s.

"The observed portion of the trajectory covered over 300 km.

"If any meteorites did fall, they ended up in the ocean."

About the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA)

The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority was established on the 1st of January 2007. The SFPA is independent in the exercise of its functions, which are below.

The principal functions of the Authority are:

  1. To secure efficient and effective enforcement of sea-fisheries law and food safety law
  2. To promote compliance with & deter contraventions of sea-fisheries law and food safety law
  3. To detect contraventions of sea-fisheries law and food safety law
  4. To provide information to the sea-fisheries and seafood sectors on sea-fisheries law and food safety law and relevant matters within the remit of the Authority, through the Consultative Committee established under section 48 of the above Act or by any other means it considers appropriate
  5. To advise the Minister in relation to policy on effective implementation of sea-fisheries law and food safety law
  6. To provide assistance and information to the Minister in relation to the remit of the Authority
  7. To collect and report data in relation to sea fisheries and food safety as required by the Minister and under Community law
  8. To represent or assist in the representation of the State at national, Community and international fora as requested by the Minister, and
  9. To engage in any other activities relating to the functions of the Authority as may be approved of by the Minister.