It was similar to observing a bright firework shooting towards earth with a lengthy glowing trail that turned into a smoky line similar to an airplane’s contrail.
Location
Address
Big Arm, MT
Latitude
47° 48' 3.72'' N (47.801034°)
Longitude
114° 18' 28.39'' W (-114.307886°)
Elevation
884.521m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2026-07-08 22:45 MDT
UT Date & Time
2026-07-09 04:45 UT
Duration
≈3.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From up left to down right
Descent Angle
139°
Moving
Facing azimuth
70°
First azimuth
67°
First elevation
55°
Last azimuth
78.04°
Last elevation
18°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-21
Color
Yellow
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
Yes
Duration
99.99s
Length
30°
Remarks
Glowing train which turned into a linear smoke trail which eventually faded after about 5 mins.
*I am unable to provide a comment within the terminal flash section however trees blocked my view of how long it continued or if anything further happened towards the end.
