Reports Report 197b (Event 197-2026)
| Observer | |
|---|---|
| Name | Madison C |
| Experience Level | 3/5 |
| Remarks | I was driving to work through Monroeville and saw this bright light moving in the sky, it was moving faster than a plane but looked big enough in the sky like a plane that was 20,000 feet in the air. At first, I thought it was a plane crashing out of the sky, but it continued along the horizon, developing a fiery streak. The object went from white to red/orange with a fire looking tail. By the time it made it to the other side (it traveled right to left) it dissipated. The interesting thing was I was in a heavy light polluted area and there were not many other stars in the sky. Also, it was right before sunrise. Please don't hesitate to reach out, it was so interesting that I have researching it all morning! |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Address | Monroeville, PA |
| Latitude | 40° 26' 19.3'' N (40.438694°) |
| Longitude | 79° 44' 44.13'' W (-79.745593°) |
| Elevation | 321.086121m |
| Time and Duration | |
|---|---|
| Local Date & Time | 2026-01-07 06:40 EST |
| UT Date & Time | 2026-01-07 11:40 UT |
| Duration | ≈3.5s |
| Direction | |
|---|---|
| Moving direction | From up right to down left |
| Descent Angle | 259° |
| Moving | |
|---|---|
| Facing azimuth | 273.66° |
| First azimuth | 296.19° |
| First elevation | 36° |
| Last azimuth | 259.45° |
| Last elevation | 20° |
| Brightness and color | |
|---|---|
| Stellar Magnitude | -6 |
| Color | Orange, Yellow, Light Yellow, Red, White |
| Concurrent Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Unknown |
| Remarks | - |
| Delayed Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Unknown |
| Remarks | - |
| Persistent train | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Duration | 2s |
| Length | 20° |
| Remarks | The glowing train was at least between 20-30 degrees. It first began like a white streak and then progressed into a fire train. At first I thought it was a plane falling out of the sky. It looked like a plane at 20,000 feet but as it continued along the horizon, I realized it was a fireball |
| Terminal flash | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Fragmentation | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |