American Meteor Society

Reports Report 2849a (Event 2849-2018)

Observer
Name Diane S
Experience Level 2/5
Remarks Whatever I saw, it was magnificent.
Location
Address Boston, MA
Latitude 42° 17' 1.32'' N (42.2837°)
Longitude 71° 8' 17.9'' W (-71.138305°)
Elevation 29.999m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time 2018-08-05 00:40 EDT
UT Date & Time 2018-08-05 04:40 UT
Duration ≈20s
Direction
Moving direction From down right to up left
Descent Angle 329°
Moving
Facing azimuth 169.24°
First azimuth 162.82°
First elevation 65°
Last azimuth 158.99°
Last elevation 70°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude -5
Color It looked like a small explosion of reddish-orange at the core and streaks of yellow emanating outward.
Concurrent Sound
Observation No
Remarks -
Delayed Sound
Observation No
Remarks -
Persistent train
Observation Yes
Duration 30s
Length -
Remarks Glowing train of reddish orange and red. I never saw the "shooting star" part, just the trail. I've never seen anything like this. Asked a scientist online. He said it was most likely the glowing train of a fireball.
Terminal flash
Observation Yes
Remarks See above
Fragmentation
Observation Yes
Remarks The object looked red, then seemed to burst. As it fell, I could see more orange, with yellow streaks.