Puzzling but wonderful experience. First thought was a plane blowing up then realized I did not see it fall....it streaked and was gone midair.
Location
Address
Fountain Valley, CA
Latitude
33° 42' 13.86'' N (33.703851°)
Longitude
117° 57' 49.39'' W (-117.96372°)
Elevation
7.713m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2017-11-18 17:28 PST
UT Date & Time
2017-11-19 01:28 UT
Duration
≈3.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From up left to down right
Descent Angle
102°
Moving
Facing azimuth
167.61°
First azimuth
154.49°
First elevation
60°
Last azimuth
166.25°
Last elevation
35°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-4
Color
White
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
No
Duration
-
Length
-
Remarks
-
Terminal flash
Observation
Yes
Remarks
I was watching airplanes high in sky...Small dot which I thought was a plane coming at an angle toward me grew slightly then flashed into a fireball very brief and disappearred in midsky...did not descend to ground...it would be out over Pacific Ocean that direction as I was four miles from beach looking west.
Fragmentation
Observation
Yes
Remarks
I saw the fireball and then fragmentation was just a second. I definitely saw it burst into fire and swoosh it was gone.
