Reports Report 4239ft (Event 4239-2016)
| Observer | |
|---|---|
| Name | James P |
| Experience Level | 4/5 |
| Remarks | Initially I was facing SSW aligning my telescope when surrounding area started getting very 'light' & bright out (so I did not directly witness the 'entire' event, only the last 'half' directly watching the fireball); I quickly turned to the NNE to see the fireball, flash, fragmentation, & then saw the vapor trail - the entire event only lasted about 3 seconds total; I did not note the exact time (!) of the event, but it has to be the same as other PA reports of ~8:15 PM EDT because of my location & viewing direction. Quite spectacular!! This was my 2nd true meteorite "fireball" event. |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Address | State College, PA |
| Latitude | 40° 48' 1.94'' N (40.80054°) |
| Longitude | 77° 55' 31.26'' W (-77.92535°) |
| Elevation | 405.4m |
| Time and Duration | |
|---|---|
| Local Date & Time | 2016-11-01 20:15 EDT |
| UT Date & Time | 2016-11-02 00:15 UT |
| Duration | ≈3.5s |
| Direction | |
|---|---|
| Moving direction | From up right to down left |
| Descent Angle | 182° |
| Moving | |
|---|---|
| Facing azimuth | 25° |
| First azimuth | 25° |
| First elevation | 55° |
| Last azimuth | 25° |
| Last elevation | 15° |
| Brightness and color | |
|---|---|
| Stellar Magnitude | -18 |
| Color | Light Green, Light Yellow, White |
| Concurrent Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Delayed Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Persistent train | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Duration | 1s |
| Length | 8° |
| Remarks | glowing vapor trail-like, rapidly disappearing top to bottom (or was it only a 'ghost' image temporarily burned into my eyes because of the fireball's brightness?) |
| Terminal flash | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | increasing brightness with a very bright flash like looking directly into a camera flash going off |
| Fragmentation | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | immediately after the very bright flash saw multiple very short-lived fragments (5 or 6) |