Fireball report

Reports Report 280ba (Event 280-2026)

Observer
Name	D'anna Z
Experience Level	4/5
Remarks	This was quite an experience for me. Normally, showers are quick streaks you could miss if you blink but as soon as I ruled out aviation I exclaimed "shooting star!" not really expecting the two people I was with to have time to see it and to my delight it just kept going so everyone got to watch.

Location
Address	Glendale, CA
Latitude	34° 11' 6.55'' N (34.185153°)
Longitude	118° 12' 57.22'' W (-118.215895°)
Elevation	385.554321m

Time and Duration
Local Date & Time	2026-01-10 19:40 PST
UT Date & Time	2026-01-11 03:40 UT
Duration	≈3.5s

Direction
Moving direction	From up left to down right
Descent Angle	115°

Moving
Facing azimuth	263.54°
First azimuth	243.12°
First elevation	62°
Last azimuth	269.67°
Last elevation	27°

Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude	-5
Color	Orange, Yellow, Light Yellow, Red

Concurrent Sound
Observation	No
Remarks	-

Delayed Sound
Observation	No
Remarks	-

Persistent train
Observation	No
Duration	-
Length	-
Remarks	-

Terminal flash
Observation	Unknown
Remarks	-

Fragmentation
Observation	Yes
Remarks	It was increasing in size and brightness and losing small twinkling particles along its trajectory, then broke apart in what seemed like bigger pieces at the end. I was surprised how much detail I seemed to be able to see with my naked eye. It was dark in our immediate vicinity and we were at a pretty high elevation though. It was primarily just an intense pale yellow light at first, moving at a angle and speed not typical of an aircraft so even though it was at the edge of my field of vision, it quickly caught my attention. It reminded me of a milder and faster version of the white waterfall type fireworks that make the shushing sound just far fewer particles. The colors became more brilliant just before it terminated, where each chunk seemed to have a more orange/red glow and then those chunks disintegrated in a brief sparkly display.

Fragmentation

Observation

Yes

Remarks

It was increasing in size and brightness and losing small twinkling particles along its trajectory, then broke apart in what seemed like bigger pieces at the end. I was surprised how much detail I seemed to be able to see with my naked eye. It was dark in our immediate vicinity and we were at a pretty high elevation though. It was primarily just an intense pale yellow light at first, moving at a angle and speed not typical of an aircraft so even though it was at the edge of my field of vision, it quickly caught my attention. It reminded me of a milder and faster version of the white waterfall type fireworks that make the shushing sound just far fewer particles. The colors became more brilliant just before it terminated, where each chunk seemed to have a more orange/red glow and then those chunks disintegrated in a brief sparkly display.