American Meteor Society

Reports Report 1668g (Event 1668-2014)

Observer
Name James D
Experience Level 1/5
Remarks It disappeared behind the tree SW of the sighting location and did not reappear. Based on 'one fist = 10 degrees' heuristic, the tip of the tail when I saw it to the maximum distance it could have traveled before appearing on the other side of the tree would have been ~30 degrees. It first appeared to be a helicopter but was moving far too fast and lacked both the sound and secondary lights.
Location
Address Fairfax, VA
Latitude 38° 48' 22.7'' N (38.806305°)
Longitude 77° 17' 45.56'' W (-77.295989°)
Elevation 98.297104m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time 2014-07-29 22:07 EDT
UT Date & Time 2014-07-30 02:07 UT
Duration ≈1.5s
Direction
Moving direction From up right to down left
Descent Angle 225°
Moving
Facing azimuth 262.21°
First azimuth 281.95°
First elevation 26°
Last azimuth 240.66°
Last elevation 22°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude -12
Color Light Blue
Concurrent Sound
Observation No
Remarks -
Delayed Sound
Observation No
Remarks -
Persistent train
Observation Yes
Duration 2s
Length 15°
Remarks Glowing and short lived, but of a similar color.
Terminal flash
Observation No
Remarks -
Fragmentation
Observation No
Remarks -