Author Archives: Mike Hankey

About Mike Hankey

Mike Hankey is a software developer, entrepreneur, amateur astronomer, astrophotographer, meteor observer and meteorite hunter. Mike's enthusiasm for meteors led him to the American Meteor Society where he volunteered his time and the services of his software development company to redesign the AMS website and fireball reporting tool. In 2011 Mike was awarded the society's C.P. Olivier award for his work. In 2012 Mike was promoted to the role of Operations Manager. Mike and his company continue to maintain and enhance the AMS website and fireball reporting tools. You can see Mike's photography work and read more of his posts on his astronomy blog: MikesAstroPhotos.com
Heat Map for AMS Event 2013 1185

Over 200 witnesses reported a large fireball over Ohio last night around 11:05 PM local central time (3:05 UT). The fireball was seen from primarily Ohio and Indiana, but witnesses from West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and North Carolina also reportedRead More >

Memorial Day Fireball – May 26th, 2013 9:05 PM Eastern Time

Party goers on the East Coast were graced with two brilliant fireballs last night. The first bolide (event #1143) entered the atmosphere over north central PA around 9:05 PM Eastern time and was traveling from the east-south-east to the west-north-west. ClickRead More >

ams-four-fireballs-may192013

In the last 24 hours the AMS has received confirmed reports about 4 unique fireball events all occurring near 4:00 AM UTC time. The most recent event occurred in Arkansas and Missouri on May 19th near 3:37 UTC. At theRead More >


ams-1081

Two significant fireballs were reported last night to the AMS both with nearly identical times and headings. On the east coast over 25 witness reported a fragmenting fireball with delayed boom sounds around 12:30 EST (4:30 UTC). The fireball enteredRead More >

UK Fireball - May 8th, 2013 - Click for Event Map

The twittersphere was a buzz last night over reports of a massive fireball over the UK. The AMS has received 19 reports so far and we encourage eye witnesses of this event to make an official fireball report. Witness fireballRead More >

Fireball Meteor - May 1st 9:30 EST

The American Meteor Society has received numerous reports regarding two large fireballs spotted over the North Eastern United States on the evening of May 1st. The first event happened around 9:30 EST and was seen from Illinois, New Hampshire, NewRead More >


20130328-WY

The AMS has received over 30 reports of a fireball over Wyoming this morning. The average time reported for the event is: 2013-03-28 05:45 MDT (11:45 UTC). The fireball was seen over a 700 square mile area from Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming and Alberta. Some witnesses reported fragmentation,Read More >

20130322-carl-fuller-fireball-full

Here is a remarkable pair of pictures taken by Biologist and Amateur Meteor Astronomer Carl Fuller of the Greater New York City Area. Carl installed an astronomy camera on his roof 9 months ago and was hoping to capture someRead More >

Heat Map For March 22nd, 2013 Northeast Fireball - (last update: 03/23 - 7am ET)

Here’s a heat map of the witness sightings for the March 22nd, 2013 Northeast Fireball. Click map below to view event sightings page. Heat Map For March 22nd, 2013 Northeast Fireball (last update: 03/23 – 11am ET) Here’s an estimatedRead More >


significant-ams-events2005-feb2013

The American Meteor Society has published a statistical analysis of fireball events reported to the society since 2005. This report is not intended to be a conclusive study regarding the rates of fireball meteors, but simply a representation of theRead More >

20130316-620-NC-SC-TN

The American Meteor Society is receiving numerous reports about a bright fragmenting fireball event that happened over what appears to be western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. The event occurred at 03/17 00:50 UTC or 8:50 PM local time earlier tonight. Here is a mapRead More >

The American Meteor Society has recieved over 40 reports about a large fireball that was seen over the west coast of California on February 21st at 10:30 local time. Based on reports the fireball looks to have been traveling east-southeastRead More >