Reports Report 5096a (Event 5096-2021)
| Observer | |
|---|---|
| Name | William T |
| Experience Level | 4/5 |
| Remarks | I am big into astronomy, and have seen many meteorites and meteors in the sky, and know a good amount about the mechanics of these things. I think it skipped off the atmosphere leaving a trail but then went back up out of the atmosphere, but lost kinetic energy and came back down at a steep ring angle burned up in the atmosphere many miles away. It was a very clear day so there were no clouds in the sky before it arrived so it was pretty clearly not a cloud nor an airplane. I have one more picture if you want, showing the end of the streak and its reentry cloud. |
| Photo |
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| Location | |
|---|---|
| Address | Petaluma, CA |
| Latitude | 38° 13' 36.31'' N (38.226754°) |
| Longitude | 122° 37' 44.87'' W (-122.629131°) |
| Elevation | 17.409632m |
| Time and Duration | |
|---|---|
| Local Date & Time | 2021-08-26 12:49 PDT |
| UT Date & Time | 2021-08-26 19:49 UT |
| Duration | ≈1.5s |
| Direction | |
|---|---|
| Moving direction | From up left to down right |
| Descent Angle | 99° |
| Moving | |
|---|---|
| Facing azimuth | 114.22° |
| First azimuth | 108.19° |
| First elevation | 13° |
| Last azimuth | 108.92° |
| Last elevation | 5° |
| Brightness and color | |
|---|---|
| Stellar Magnitude | -6 |
| Color | White |
| Concurrent Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Delayed Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Persistent train | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Duration | 60s |
| Length | 90° |
| Remarks | It’s looked like smoke with it more opaque to the sides and more clear in the center, with lots of curls and swirls, it quickly drifted south and lasted a long time, several minutes before it dissipated. |
| Terminal flash | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | Low on the horizon, almost looked like a small puff of smoke, it was very small. The rial was straight overhead then terminated after about 90 degrees, but then it was clear for a long way, then far off in the distance near the horizon i saw a flash and smoke or vapor. I think it skipped the atmosphere right over my head then dipped back in and blew up 30-60 miles away. |
| Fragmentation | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |