Traveling on HWY 395 towards Mammoth and saw a bright light from the right side. It was the brightest shooting star we have ever seen. It left us speechless. It has a bright blue trail and the head of the fireball was a brilliant white. It traveled for some time before fragmenting into about 3-5 other pieces each of which were also big and brilliant. Then they fell sharply, and disappeared. Most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in the sky.
Location
Address
Lee Vining, CA
Latitude
37° 57' 27.33'' N (37.957592°)
Longitude
119° 7' 11.79'' W (-119.119943°)
Elevation
2066.12915m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2025-08-21 20:15 PDT
UT Date & Time
2025-08-22 03:15 UT
Duration
≈20s
Direction
Moving direction
From right to left
Descent Angle
270°
Moving
Facing azimuth
180°
First azimuth
225°
First elevation
45°
Last azimuth
135°
Last elevation
25°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-11
Color
White and blue
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
Yes
Duration
3s
Length
10°
Remarks
Glowing
Terminal flash
Observation
Unknown
Remarks
-
Fragmentation
Observation
Yes
Remarks
Burst into 5 smaller pieces each of which fell more sharply down and had small trails
