Max Gonzalez, 11 Jul 2014, 2:45 AM UTC
Night sky fireballs, cold nights and meteorology
Earlier this week, yours truly wrote a story highlighting the relationship between meteors and weather forecasters.
Back then (just like today), the main weather phenomenon dominating the eastern Australian landscape was a high pressure system leading to a clear night sky.
Remember that light winds and cloud-free skies (both related to high pressure systems) are the ingredients for cold nights which in turn are the best for any one keen in stargazing.
That same day (Tuesday), temperatures dropped to 2.9 degrees in Bundaberg, making it its coldest July morning since 1966. Adding to the Deja vu experience, Bundaberg dropped to 2.5 degrees this morning, making it again the coldest morning (by 0.3 degrees) since 1966.
Further north, Thangool in the Capricornia's highlands dropped to -3.1 degrees this morning, its coldest July morning since 2004. To the east, Rockhampton managed to dip to 3.1 degrees making it its coldest July morning since 2008. Coolangatta's 1 degree this morning made its coldest July morning since 2011.
Across the QLD borders, Lightning Ridge (NSW) just had its coldest July morning since 1997 with -3 degrees and Jervois (NT) with -1 degrees, its coldest since 2002.
The cold mornings are likely to get even colder over some places late this the weekend and early next week as a front marching over southeastern Australia over the next 48 hours brings a very cold air mass in its wake.
Last night, a fireball was seen over Australia's night sky. Even though meteorologists don't forecast Meteors but weather, it seems (taken by the article written earlier this week) we might have some sort of six sense about this kind of phenomena after all.
Remember that Aristotle first used the term "Meteorologica", to refer to anything falling from the sky as a meteor.
Personally, I will continue to gaze at the night sky and be amaze by falling celestial objects (or in this case what seems to be Russian junk) while forecasting how long I would last before getting my limbs numb.
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