We are 20 miles west of White Sands Missile Range and we do see rockets launching and have sonic booms from military jets but my husband and I have never seen or heard missiles or jets like this.
Location
Address
Las Cruces, NM
Latitude
32° 23' 12.53'' N (32.386814°)
Longitude
106° 41' 58.67'' W (-106.699631°)
Elevation
1353.965454m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2023-08-31 21:45 MDT
UT Date & Time
2023-09-01 03:45 UT
Duration
≈1.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From up right to down left
Descent Angle
258°
Moving
Facing azimuth
40.96°
First azimuth
48.81°
First elevation
65°
Last azimuth
3.6°
Last elevation
45°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-18
Color
Yellow
Concurrent Sound
Observation
Yes
Remarks
Very loud boom followed by a second less intense boom that sounded like a sonic boom but more intense.
Delayed Sound
Observation
Yes
Remarks
The second boom was approximately 2 seconds after light and first boom.
Persistent train
Observation
No
Duration
-
Length
-
Remarks
-
Terminal flash
Observation
Unknown
Remarks
-
Fragmentation
Observation
Yes
Remarks
There was a smaller bright yellow light that followed the first bigger and brighter light.
