American Meteor Society

Reports Report 501ae (Event 501-2013)

Observer
Name Jimmy H
Experience Level 2/5
Remarks I observed the (now we know it was a chinese rocket) at 03:08.30" am 2/27/13. My position in the Gulf of Mexico was Lat. 27.840' Long. 91.988'. I was about 60 feet above the water on a platform deck on the oil/gas producing platform. I first saw it as a bright orange ball of light on the south horizon with a orange tail. As it moved in my direction, slightly from the ssw to the nnw, it became very bright white with several bright white fragments trailing after the main body. The sky was clear and cloudless and I did not see a smoke trail as it crossed the sky just under the nearly full moon. It continued to streak nnw out of sight on the nnw horizon. I could not have heard any sound due to the large generator running on the platform. From the first sighting to the last seen moments, it took approximently two plus minutes to traverse the sky. It was a sight to see it sail acroos the sky.
Location
Address gulf of mexico, LA
Latitude 29° 11' 12.83'' N (29.186896°)
Longitude 89° 56' 12.25'' W (-89.936737°)
Elevation -1m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time 2013-02-27 03:09 CST
UT Date & Time 2013-02-27 09:09 UT
Duration ?
Direction
Moving direction -
Descent Angle -
Moving
Facing azimuth 225°
First azimuth 180°
First elevation -1°
Last azimuth 315°
Last elevation -1°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude -13
Color bright white
Concurrent Sound
Observation No
Remarks Trail of 10-15 smaller bright burning fragments of the long tailing steak, no clouds, passed under the moon L to R
Delayed Sound
Observation No
Remarks -
Persistent train
Observation No
Duration -1s
Length -1°
Remarks -
Terminal flash
Observation No
Remarks -
Fragmentation
Observation Unknown
Remarks Trail of 10-15 smaller bright burning fragments of the long tailing steak, no clouds, passed under the moon L to R