I first saw it through the tree branches/leaves. It was so bright it looked like a spotlight attached to a helicopter shining at me. It passed the tree and continued through a good section of open sky before disappearing into the horizon line. I was waiting to hear a boom but didn’t.
Location
Address
Albuquerque, NM
Latitude
35° 6' 53.03'' N (35.11473°)
Longitude
106° 33' 32.15'' W (-106.55893°)
Elevation
1634.715698m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2020-07-28 20:56 MDT
UT Date & Time
2020-07-29 02:56 UT
Duration
≈7.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From up left to down right
Descent Angle
108°
Moving
Facing azimuth
34.62°
First azimuth
13.01°
First elevation
20°
Last azimuth
55.49°
Last elevation
7°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-16
Color
White center with a yellow/orange outer shell and tail.
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
No
Duration
-
Length
-
Remarks
-
Terminal flash
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Fragmentation
Observation
Yes
Remarks
About half way through it’s flight path I observed a fragment separate from it. The fragment looked about 15% of the size of the larger object. The fragment didn’t have as bright a white center as the larger object and has the same yellow/orange tail.
