I was going slow on a one lane highway due to a farming tractor in front of me traveling east. When I pulled into my work parking lot, 2 other staff members that were stuck behind the tractor asked if I saw that in the sky. We all described it the same.
Location
Address
Crete, IL
Latitude
41° 25' 13.95'' N (41.420542°)
Longitude
87° 38' 13.11'' W (-87.636974°)
Elevation
231.758713m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2026-03-17 07:57 CDT
UT Date & Time
2026-03-17 12:57 UT
Duration
≈3.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From up left to down right
Descent Angle
153°
Moving
Facing azimuth
190.13°
First azimuth
11.98°
First elevation
53°
Last azimuth
196.74°
Last elevation
18°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-5
Color
Orange, Yellow, Light Yellow
Concurrent Sound
Observation
Unknown
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
Unknown
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
Yes
Duration
99.99s
Length
-
Remarks
Smoke trail of white like a plane sometimes leaves. I only saw it for 6 minutes after because I changed direction and trees were blocking
Terminal flash
Observation
Yes
Remarks
It was a bright light and I thought something was falling from the sky on fire. As it trailed it was less bright and distinguished.