Reports Report 2495aq (Event 2495-2018)
| Observer | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sharon G |
| Experience Level | 3/5 |
| Remarks | It seemed much lower than the meteors we usually see. We live in the county on 5 acres, not much light pollution. The moon was up but was partially blocked by some clouds, which are not regular evening occurrences in the desert. The moon was to my back as I walked northwest on the property with the dogs. Our blind dog froze and growled, which is why I was standing still and looking up, just before the bright light lit up the yard coming at us from the north. |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Address | Ridgecrest, CA |
| Latitude | 35° 35' 21.75'' N (35.589375°) |
| Longitude | 117° 41' 22.12'' W (-117.689479°) |
| Elevation | 736.9m |
| Time and Duration | |
|---|---|
| Local Date & Time | 2018-07-19 22:10 PDT |
| UT Date & Time | 2018-07-20 05:10 UT |
| Duration | ≈7.5s |
| Direction | |
|---|---|
| Moving direction | From up left to down right |
| Descent Angle | 179° |
| Moving | |
|---|---|
| Facing azimuth | 358.07° |
| First azimuth | 358° |
| First elevation | 69° |
| Last azimuth | 176.9° |
| Last elevation | 23° |
| Brightness and color | |
|---|---|
| Stellar Magnitude | -17 |
| Color | Orange, Yellow, Red |
| Concurrent Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Delayed Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | 15-20 seconds after passing over there was a muffled boom. It was not as loud as the sonic booms we get from the test aircraft at the Naval Air Weapons Center and their airfield about 5 miles away from where the fireball was seen. |
| Persistent train | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Duration | 10s |
| Length | 30° |
| Remarks | The fireball first appeared as a round, very bright light. It literally lit the property like a spotlight on a helicopter. We are in an area of fairly dark sky. As the fireball traveled directly over me standing in the yard it became a yellow glowing mass with red and orange flashes trailed by a grey/smoke trail. As it moved south, it flared and then the light blinked out completely with just the slight haze from the trail. The trail appeared after it went over head and dissipated over 20 seconds. The fireball had a visual mass that most of them don't have. |
| Terminal flash | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | After it passed over my head, it seemed to flare up and then just disappeared. About 20-30 seconds later I heard a muffled boom. |
| Fragmentation | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |