Fireball Photos from California Meteor of Oct. 17, 2012

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Oct. 17 Fireball

Credit: Paola-Castillo

San Mateo College student Paola-Castillo used her cell phone to capture the Oct. 17, 2012 fireball over Northern California while stuck in traffic.

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California Fireball over Aptos

Credit: Rachel Fritz & Rick Nolthenius/Cabrillo College

Editor's Note: The rock originally thought to represent a meteorite from the Oct. 17 fireball turned out to be just a rock.

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Fireball Over Belmont, CA

Credit: Wes Jones

Editor's Note: The rock originally thought to represent a meteorite from the Oct. 17 fireball turned out to be just a rock.

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San Jose Meteor Oct. 17, 2012

Credit: Lick Observatory (via YouTube as Erik Kovacs)

Editor's Note: The rock originally thought to represent a meteorite from the Oct. 17 fireball turned out to be just a rock.

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Novato Meteorwrong

Credit: P. Jenniskens, SETI Institute/NASA ARC

This photo shows a rock discovered by Lisa Webber of Novato, Calif., originally thought to be a meteorite from a meteor that created a spectacular fireball over Northern California on Oct. 17, 2012. Subsequent analysis showed that the rock is just a rock, however.

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Meteorite Impact Dent

Credit: P. Jenniskens SETI Institute/NASA ARC

This dent on the roof of Lisa Webber's Novato, Calif. home is thought to have been created when a meteorite slammed into it Oct. 17, 2012. However, the rock originally thought to be the meteorite turned out to be simply a rock.

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Meteorite Dent from Oct. 17, 2012 Fireball

Credit: P. Jenniskens SETI Institute/NASA ARC

Editor's Note: The rock originally thought to represent a meteorite from the Oct. 17 fireball turned out to be just a rock.

The dent in a roof caused by a meteorite from the Oct. 17, 2012, fireball over Northern California is identified by Luis Rivera, the neighbor of Lisa Webber who found the meteorite after it struck her Novata, Calif., home.

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Space Rock Impact

Credit: P. Jenniskens SETI Institute/NASA ARC

Editor's Note: The rock originally thought to represent a meteorite from the Oct. 17 fireball turned out to be just a rock.

Luis Rivera points to the dent a meteorite made in his neighbor's Novato, Calif. roof when it landed Oct. 17, 2012.

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Meteorite Hunters Climb Roof

Credit: P. Jenniskens SETI Institute/NASA ARC

Editor's Note: The rock originally thought to represent a meteorite from the Oct. 17 fireball turned out to be just a rock.

Luis Rivera and Peter Jenniskens climb on the roof a Novato, Calif. home to search for the dent created when a meteorite landed there Oct. 17, 2012.

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Lisa Webber

Credit: P. Jenniskens SETI Institute/NASA ARC

Editor's Note: The rock originally thought to represent a meteorite from the Oct. 17 fireball turned out to be just a rock.

Lisa Webber, a nurse in Novato, Calif., found a meteorite in her backyard after it landed Oct. 17, 2012.

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Meteor Fireball Trajectory: Oct. 17, 2012

Credit: P. Jenniskens SETI Institute/NASA ARC

Editor's Note: The rock originally thought to represent a meteorite from the Oct. 17 fireball turned out to be just a rock.

This map shows the preliminary trajectory of a meteor that lit up the Northern California night sky on Oct. 17, 2012, as calculated by meteor expert Peter Jenniskens from Sunnyvale and San Mateo College Observatory CAMS video data.

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Oct. 17 Meteor Path

Credit: P. Jenniskens SETI Institute/NASA ARC

Projected band (light area) where meteorites of different size may have fallen over Marin and Sonoma counties from an Oct. 17, 2012 meteor.

Fireball Photos from California Meteor of Oct. 17, 2012

Oct. 17 Fireball

California Fireball over Aptos

Fireball Over Belmont, CA

San Jose Meteor Oct. 17, 2012

Novato Meteorwrong

Meteorite Impact Dent

Meteorite Dent from Oct. 17, 2012 Fireball

Space Rock Impact

Meteorite Hunters Climb Roof

Lisa Webber

Meteor Fireball Trajectory: Oct. 17, 2012

Oct. 17 Meteor Path

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