I' ve seen "shooting stars" before; this was way beyond anything I've ever seen before. As bright as nav and landing lights on aircraft but speed well beyond aircraft (which regularly pass overhead in pattern for KABE). I've never seen anything in the sky apparently shed mass before. This was a once in a lifetime serendipitous sighting that I observed while placing a RaspberryPi NoIR camera in my yard to test its ability to capture star trails around Polaris.
JoeC WindyHeights 20200818.2224EDT
Location
Address
, PA
Latitude
40° 31' 50.72'' N (40.530756°)
Longitude
75° 23' 54.34'' W (-75.398427°)
Elevation
137.044189m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2020-08-18 21:46 EDT
UT Date & Time
2020-08-19 01:46 UT
Duration
≈7.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From up left to down right
Descent Angle
131°
Moving
Facing azimuth
340°
First azimuth
340°
First elevation
63°
Last azimuth
350°
Last elevation
19°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-10
Color
Green, Orange, Yellow
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
three instances of apparent shedding of mass, each accompanied by slightly increased intensity
