My teens who have observed meteor showers in our back yard with my husband since they were small children said they had never seen anything so big, with a tail that brilliant nor an explosion so bright that it lit the entire sky. One said it dwarfed any fireballs she had seen in the past and previously thought were big. We were driving home and the brightness of the explosion really did wake one of my other teens who was sleeping in the back!
Location
Address
Downingtown, PA
Latitude
40° 2' 48.9'' N (40.046917°)
Longitude
75° 47' 44.39'' W (-75.795664°)
Elevation
173.821457m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2014-09-14 22:55 EDT
UT Date & Time
2014-09-15 02:55 UT
Duration
≈3.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From up right to down left
Descent Angle
225°
Moving
Facing azimuth
285.97°
First azimuth
301.51°
First elevation
23°
Last azimuth
276.06°
Last elevation
13°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-24
Color
The streak was orange, the explosion was red then pale yellow and lit the entire sky.
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
No
Duration
-
Length
-
Remarks
-
Terminal flash
Observation
Yes
Remarks
A huge increase in size of the ball, then red with a trace of green, then pale yellow lit the entire sky and woke passengers in the vehicle who thought it was lightening.
