Fireball Monitoring Program

This exceptionally bright fireball trail was photographed with a fish-eye camera at a Czech Republic station of the European Fireball Network on January 21, 1999. Monitored by three stations of this network, the luminous trail is measured to begin at an altitude of 81.9 kilometers and covered 71.1 kilometers in 6.7 seconds. It is thought likely that a small (a few hundred grams) meteorite survived this fiery fall to Earth and landed near the Czech-Poland border. Picture courtesy of P. Spurny , (Astronomical Institute, Ondrejov Observatory).

• Introduction
• Related Organizations
• Additional On-Line Resources
• Fireball Reporting Form
• FAQ on Fireballs and Meteorite Dropping Fireballs
• Fireball Sightings Log: 2005
• Fireball Sightings Log: 2006
• Fireball Sightings Log: 2007
• Fireball Sightings Log: 2008

If you happen to see one of these memorable events, we would ask that you report it here to the American Meteor Society, remembering as many details as possible. This will include things such as brightness, length across the sky, color, and duration (how long did it last), it is most helpful of the observer will mentally note the beginning and end points of the fireball with regard to background star constellations, or compass direction and angular elevation above the horizon.

Individual reports are shared with other interested organizations, and saved for statistical study purposes. Reports are also shared with the general public in the form of our Fireball Sightings Log, which allows visitors to monitor the fireball activity which is reported to us from across North America, over the course of a given year. Although the AMS does not pursue fireball reports with the intent of recovering meteorites, we do notify relavent planetary scientists when promising events occur in their local geographic areas, for them to pursue as they wish.

• The Meteoritical Society is a non-profit professional organization which promotes the study of extraterrestrial materials and their history. Indiviual members/institutions are notified when promising events occur near their local geographic areas.

• The Canadian Space Agency's Meteorite and Impacts Advisory Committee (MIAC) collects fireball reports from across Canada and coordinates possible meteorite recovery activities for promising events.

• The International Meteor Organization's Fireball Data Center (FIDAC) collects fireball reports from around the world for distribution and study.

• Fireball Reporting Form, used to report an eyewitnessed fireball to the AMS.

• Fireball Sightings Log: 2008, back by popular demand, we will again keep a running log of all fireball reports recieved by our society, organized in a spreadsheet format and maintained by year.

• FAQ on Fireballs and Meteorite Dropping Fireballs (Frequently Asked Questions).

• Ed Majden's Informative Web Page on Fireballs.