Fireball report

Reports Report 5621e (Event 5621-2018)

Observer
Name	Michael B
Experience Level	3/5
Remarks	The entire time from when I saw the blue light to when the meteor disappeared was about 5 seconds, and the explosion/rumbling sound was about 3 minutes after the light stopped.

Location
Address	Elk River, MN
Latitude	45° 17' 33.64'' N (45.292677°)
Longitude	93° 30' 57.63'' W (-93.516008°)
Elevation	272.214294m

Time and Duration
Local Date & Time	2018-12-20 02:10 CST
UT Date & Time	2018-12-20 08:10 UT
Duration	≈3.5s

Direction
Moving direction	From up to down
Descent Angle	180°

Moving
Facing azimuth	70.49°
First azimuth	68.56°
First elevation	90°
Last azimuth	66.76°
Last elevation	45°

Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude	-18
Color	Light Blue

Concurrent Sound
Observation	No
Remarks	-

Delayed Sound
Observation	Yes
Remarks	As it passed overhead there was no sound. After it was no longer visible I wondered if I anything would happen, like in Chelyabinsk in 2013. After about 3 minutes, an explosion sound occured, from far away, yet audible enough to make some pheasants in my backyard scatter and squawk some. The sound was like a sonic boom, just not quite so loud. There was a rumbling sound as well, for maybe 5 seconds after the initial boom.

Delayed Sound

Observation

Yes

Remarks

As it passed overhead there was no sound. After it was no longer visible I wondered if I anything would happen, like in Chelyabinsk in 2013. After about 3 minutes, an explosion sound occured, from far away, yet audible enough to make some pheasants in my backyard scatter and squawk some. The sound was like a sonic boom, just not quite so loud. There was a rumbling sound as well, for maybe 5 seconds after the initial boom.

Persistent train
Observation	Unknown
Duration	-
Length	-
Remarks	-

Terminal flash
Observation	Yes
Remarks	I'm not sure, but I was shoveling my driveway a little shortly after 2AM, the sky was completely clouded over, when I saw pulsing blue light on my driveway and all over my yard, like a police car with its lights on. I looked around for a second, and saw blue light bright enough to make my trees turn blue, like massive Christmas lights were suddenly on them. I looked up, and what looked like a large meteor was streaking directly over me, which was quite amazing because the clouds were covering the sky, and yet I could see this blue object for a couple of seconds way above the clouds, moving pretty fast until it went beyond the treeline, and seemed to disappear. I figured it was a fireball, and stood there in case of any explosion or shock wave like in Russia. I was rewarded with a boom sound about 3 minutes later, with rumbling for a few more seconds after the initial boom. Due to the clouds there is no way to see any smoke trail, but this thing must have been pretty bright to have lit up my yard and to visibly see a shape through the cloud coverage like I did. I wish I knew if it was fragmenting or what happened but it was very exciting and impressive.

Terminal flash

Observation

Yes

Remarks

I'm not sure, but I was shoveling my driveway a little shortly after 2AM, the sky was completely clouded over, when I saw pulsing blue light on my driveway and all over my yard, like a police car with its lights on. I looked around for a second, and saw blue light bright enough to make my trees turn blue, like massive Christmas lights were suddenly on them. I looked up, and what looked like a large meteor was streaking directly over me, which was quite amazing because the clouds were covering the sky, and yet I could see this blue object for a couple of seconds way above the clouds, moving pretty fast until it went beyond the treeline, and seemed to disappear. I figured it was a fireball, and stood there in case of any explosion or shock wave like in Russia. I was rewarded with a boom sound about 3 minutes later, with rumbling for a few more seconds after the initial boom. Due to the clouds there is no way to see any smoke trail, but this thing must have been pretty bright to have lit up my yard and to visibly see a shape through the cloud coverage like I did. I wish I knew if it was fragmenting or what happened but it was very exciting and impressive.

Fragmentation
Observation	Unknown
Remarks	-