Reports Report 5012ui (Event 5012-2023)
| Observer | |
|---|---|
| Name | Thomas L |
| Experience Level | 5/5 |
| Remarks | My timing of actual sighting could be off by a minute or two. I was NOT out deliberately observing, just chilling on my deck watching the stars. I did NOT have a watch or phone with me either. The Florida State -LSU game was on and I was listening from my deck and I heard the announcer say it was close to half time: e.g. 2-3 mins or so. When it first appeared, the initial flare of the fireball came from approx ESE through the head of Pegasus northward. It fizzled out just west of Polaris and nearly the same altitude. I composed a hastily written email to myself shortly afterward describing the aforementioned events which also provided a de-facto timestamp of the event which when coupled with my recount of the football game should help to zero in on the object and it's affinities. |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Address | Westminster, MD |
| Latitude | 39° 35' 18.64'' N (39.588512°) |
| Longitude | 77° 4' 53.65'' W (-77.081569°) |
| Elevation | 186.241501m |
| Time and Duration | |
|---|---|
| Local Date & Time | 2023-09-03 21:23 EDT |
| UT Date & Time | 2023-09-04 01:23 UT |
| Duration | ≈3.5s |
| Direction | |
|---|---|
| Moving direction | From down left to up right |
| Descent Angle | 88° |
| Moving | |
|---|---|
| Facing azimuth | 90° |
| First azimuth | 80° |
| First elevation | 55° |
| Last azimuth | 350° |
| Last elevation | 40° |
| Brightness and color | |
|---|---|
| Stellar Magnitude | -4 |
| Color | Bright green primarily but also with some light yellow |
| Concurrent Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | Once I realized what I was seeing and focused on it and watched it streak northward, I seemed to "hear" the faint zzzz and crackling as it passed by. |
| Delayed Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | After it fizzled out visually just west of Polaris, I counted 60 sec (I had no phone or watch on me). Hearing nothing I ran in and grabbed my phone and came back to my observing position (~~1 more minute lapsed) and just as I did so, I heard a very distant "boom" up north towards the Pennsylvania line. Very cool! |
| Persistent train | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Duration | - |
| Length | - |
| Remarks | - |
| Terminal flash | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Fragmentation | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Unknown |
| Remarks | - |