my backyard faces Southeast and I just happened to look up into the sky as I saw a huge ball of fire growing and moving slowly, It seemed to be moving slower than a meteor. Then as it fell to the southeast Horizon it split into two. I was in complete shock and awe and listening for some sort of explosion. It was not even fully dark yet and was amazing to see. I feel extremely lucky to see it and will probably go my entire life without seeing anything close to as spectacular again. My wife and kids accused me of smoking something but I knew that this was something special. I took it as a good omen.
Location
Address
Aptos, CA
Latitude
36° 58' 48.2'' N (36.980056°)
Longitude
121° 54' 58.07'' W (-121.91613°)
Elevation
49.032963m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2025-08-21 20:12 PDT
UT Date & Time
2025-08-22 03:12 UT
Duration
≈3.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From up left to down right
Descent Angle
119°
Moving
Facing azimuth
72.03°
First azimuth
33.61°
First elevation
74°
Last azimuth
105.83°
Last elevation
23°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-12
Color
Light Yellow
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
No
Duration
-
Length
-
Remarks
-
Terminal flash
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Fragmentation
Observation
Yes
Remarks
the fireball was huge and broke into two pieces, one large one smaller, as it fell towards the horizon
