Reports Report 103cw (Event 103-2013)
| Observer | |
|---|---|
| Name | Jane Trask R |
| Experience Level | 1/5 |
| Remarks | The sky was dark, as it was only 5:30 AM. My companion and I were walking on our apartment roof, facing north, when we both saw the whole sky light up, as brightly as if it were midday. It was very sudden and only lasted a moment. It came from our right, the east, and we both turned and said out loud, "What was that?" It only lasted for a moment, just a flash, but I could see a bright trail hanging there in the eastern sky, very bright but dimming slowly until it disappeared. I've never seen anything like it. The closest thing it reminded me of was when lightning suddenly lights up the sky. But it was much brighter and left its trail against the dark sky. The next day we saw an article about a "spectacular fireball" in the San Francisco Chronicle, and assumed that was what we had seen. The article didn't say what astronomers thought it was, but I'd like to know. |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Address | Oakland, CA |
| Latitude | 37° 48' 43.05'' N (37.811959°) |
| Longitude | 122° 15' 37.09'' W (-122.260302°) |
| Elevation | 7.205182m |
| Time and Duration | |
|---|---|
| Local Date & Time | 2013-01-17 05:28 PST |
| UT Date & Time | 2013-01-17 13:28 UT |
| Duration | ≈10s |
| Direction | |
|---|---|
| Moving direction | From up right to down left |
| Descent Angle | 225° |
| Moving | |
|---|---|
| Facing azimuth | -1° |
| First azimuth | -1° |
| First elevation | 39° |
| Last azimuth | -1° |
| Last elevation | -1° |
| Brightness and color | |
|---|---|
| Stellar Magnitude | -22 |
| Color | - |
| Concurrent Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Delayed Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Persistent train | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Duration | 60s |
| Length | -1° |
| Remarks | The flash was enormously bright, as though someone had turned on the lights. It lit up the whole sky, but just momentarily. Then the train remained in the sky, a bright streak, for about a full minute, very bright, but dimming until it disappeared completely. |
| Terminal flash | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Unknown |
| Remarks | - |
| Fragmentation | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |