I am an aerospace engineer by trade. It seemed like a fast moving object, but not shooting-star fast. It could have been a satellite breaking up.
Location
Address
Big Sur, CA
Latitude
36° 13' 44.79'' N (36.229108°)
Longitude
121° 45' 37.56'' W (-121.760432°)
Elevation
335.802704m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2025-03-24 21:00 PDT
UT Date & Time
2025-03-25 04:00 UT
Duration
≈20s
Direction
Moving direction
From down left to up right
Descent Angle
8°
Moving
Facing azimuth
225.51°
First azimuth
219.3°
First elevation
14°
Last azimuth
30.01°
Last elevation
40°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-12
Color
Yellow, Light Yellow, Red, White
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
Yes
Duration
99.99s
Length
99.99°
Remarks
Smoke trail left in sky, visible even at night as the sky was dark and clear and the stars were bright and could tell there were slightly obscured. Also little light pollution reflected off it.
Terminal flash
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Fragmentation
Observation
Yes
Remarks
Bits started to slough off after it had passed overhead, something like 60 degrees up
