Fireball report

Reports Report 531am (Event 531-2020)

Observer
Name	Robert H
Experience Level	4/5
Remarks	It was incredible. I am 54 years old, and teach middle school science. I live for these moments. I have seen several fireballs, but this was spectacular. Walking south with/ my wife, to our southeast in the sky, there was a HUGE GOLD FLAME. Huge, streaming, golden train, looked like a twisting river of flame, totally dynamic & twisting. There was a huge white front element, & the trail broke into many, many pieces behind it. I was trying to get my wife's attention - "fireball!" - and pointing toward it. It lasted a long time. It was HUGE. It was very exciting, and lasted a very long time, compared to the other fireballs that I have seen. Usually I start counting right away, but trying to get my wife to look up, without taking my eyes off of it, I did not start counting until the final ~5 seconds. I would peg this at 10-15 seconds, although it may have been even longer, but I think that it caught my eye right away. It was absolutely gold, like gold lame, and initially the flame (which was remarkably long) looked like thick gold tinsel, weaving strands in & out of one another. There were some smaller white hot spots as it broke up more & more, with subsequent lesser gold flames. Ultimately, it petered out, the streaking golden flames reducing to golden glitter bursts,like a fourth of July celebration. It was rad. Maybe my favorite fireball ever. I always feel so lucky when I see one.

Location
Address	Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Latitude	33° 46' 55.39'' N (33.782052°)
Longitude	118° 23' 10.94'' W (-118.386371°)
Elevation	330.392578m

Time and Duration
Local Date & Time	2020-01-29 22:25 PST
UT Date & Time	2020-01-30 06:25 UT
Duration	≈20s

Direction
Moving direction	From up right to down left
Descent Angle	231°

Moving
Facing azimuth	110.27°
First azimuth	126.6°
First elevation	47°
Last azimuth	103.86°
Last elevation	19°

Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude	-17
Color	GOLD, Orange, Yellow, Light Yellow, White

Concurrent Sound
Observation	No
Remarks	-

Delayed Sound
Observation	No
Remarks	-

Persistent train
Observation	Unknown
Duration	-
Length	-
Remarks	-

Terminal flash
Observation	Unknown
Remarks	-

Fragmentation
Observation	Yes
Remarks	It was incredible. I am 54 years old, and teach middle school science. I live for these moments. I have seen several fireballs, but this was spectacular. Walking south with/ my wife, to our southeast in the sky, there was a HUGE GOLD FLAME. Huge, streaming, golden train, looked like a twisting river of flame, totally dynamic & twisting. There was a huge white front element, & the trail broke into many, many pieces behind it. I was trying to get my wife's attention - "fireball!" - and pointing toward it. It lasted a long time. It was HUGE. It was very exciting, and lasted a very long time, compared to the other fireballs that I have seen. Usually I start counting right away, but trying to get my wife to look up, without taking my eyes off of it, I did not start counting until the final ~5 seconds. I would peg this at 10-15 seconds, although it may have been even longer, but I think that it caught my eye right away. It was absolutely gold, like gold lame, and initially the flame (which was remarkably long) looked like thick gold tinsel, weaving strands in & out of one another. There were some smaller white hot spots as it broke up more & more, with subsequent lesser gold flames. Ultimately, it petered out, the streaking golden flames reducing to golden glitter bursts,like a fourth of July celebration. It was rad. Maybe my favorite fireball ever. I always feel so lucky when I see one. It definitely appeared to be travelling in a downward arc, from high up in the southeastern sky, then approaching a more eastern horizon. Beautiful. Astonishing.

Fragmentation

Observation

Yes

Remarks

It was incredible. I am 54 years old, and teach middle school science. I live for these moments. I have seen several fireballs, but this was spectacular. Walking south with/ my wife, to our southeast in the sky, there was a HUGE GOLD FLAME. Huge, streaming, golden train, looked like a twisting river of flame, totally dynamic & twisting. There was a huge white front element, & the trail broke into many, many pieces behind it. I was trying to get my wife's attention - "fireball!" - and pointing toward it. It lasted a long time. It was HUGE. It was very exciting, and lasted a very long time, compared to the other fireballs that I have seen. Usually I start counting right away, but trying to get my wife to look up, without taking my eyes off of it, I did not start counting until the final ~5 seconds. I would peg this at 10-15 seconds, although it may have been even longer, but I think that it caught my eye right away. It was absolutely gold, like gold lame, and initially the flame (which was remarkably long) looked like thick gold tinsel, weaving strands in & out of one another. There were some smaller white hot spots as it broke up more & more, with subsequent lesser gold flames. Ultimately, it petered out, the streaking golden flames reducing to golden glitter bursts,like a fourth of July celebration. It was rad. Maybe my favorite fireball ever. I always feel so lucky when I see one. It definitely appeared to be travelling in a downward arc, from high up in the southeastern sky, then approaching a more eastern horizon. Beautiful. Astonishing.