Reports Report 6746bj (Event 6746-2021)

Observer
Name Peter B
Experience Level 4/5
Remarks I'd like to emphasize the unusual length of time that this fireball persisted. It first caught my eye at the kitchen window before moving behind cover and out of view; the time it took me to dash outside to an open horizon and regain line-of-sight was about 12 seconds (based on a retracing of steps); I continued to observe the fireball for another 10 seconds until it dissipated. Its speed was constant and "unhurried." The fireball may have originated some time before it first caught my attention; I do not know.
Location
Address Wooster, OH
Latitude 40° 47' 52.43'' N (40.797896°)
Longitude 82° 1' 54.24'' W (-82.031733°)
Elevation 359.601135m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time 2021-10-20 00:43 EDT
UT Date & Time 2021-10-20 04:43 UT
Duration ≈20s
Direction
Moving direction From up left to down right
Descent Angle 94°
Moving
Facing azimuth 311.87°
First azimuth 272.39°
First elevation 12°
Last azimuth 344.8°
Last elevation
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude -8
Color Orange, Yellow
Concurrent Sound
Observation Unknown
Remarks -
Delayed Sound
Observation Unknown
Remarks -
Persistent train
Observation Yes
Duration 30s
Length 10°
Remarks A glowing trail of golden yellow, slightly fuzzy or crackly, following behind the moving fireball at a consistent length for the fireball's entire observed movement across the sky.
Terminal flash
Observation No
Remarks -
Fragmentation
Observation Yes
Remarks As the fireball approached the terminus of my line of sight at the horizon, it rapidly fragmented into three or four break-away segments, still clustered, that dissolved in puffs of ember-sparks.