Reports Report 2605ct (Event 2605-2016)
| Observer | |
|---|---|
| Name | Jade L |
| Experience Level | 3/5 |
| Remarks | I had seen a fireball previously and, ironically, was talking about that prior event 3 minutes before we saw this event, so tried to take notes as best we could. We were camping in the back-country of the Sierra Nevada at 11,200' so had near zero light pollution and cloudless sky and heard the associated sonic boom quite clearly. The observing conditions were perfect. Upon leaving the back country learned this was debris from a Chinese rocket, but have uploaded observations anyway as we thought our location/vantage point may be useful to enhance the data quality collected on this particular event. |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Address | Mineral King, CA |
| Latitude | 36° 27' 49'' N (36.46361°) |
| Longitude | 118° 34' 7.39'' W (-118.56872°) |
| Elevation | 3340.28m |
| Time and Duration | |
|---|---|
| Local Date & Time | 2016-07-27 21:37 PDT |
| UT Date & Time | 2016-07-28 04:37 UT |
| Duration | ≈45s |
| Direction | |
|---|---|
| Moving direction | From up left to down right |
| Descent Angle | 96° |
| Moving | |
|---|---|
| Facing azimuth | 270° |
| First azimuth | 280° |
| First elevation | 25° |
| Last azimuth | 45° |
| Last elevation | 22° |
| Brightness and color | |
|---|---|
| Stellar Magnitude | -10 |
| Color | Light Blue, Light Green, White |
| Concurrent Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Delayed Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | We timed the delay between the sighting (9:37 PM) and a reasonably loud sonic boom (heard by all in the party) at 9:42 PM as about 5 minutes delay. |
| Persistent train | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Duration | 45s |
| Length | 30° |
| Remarks | It seemed to be fine halo of particles that defined the track of the object as a jet stream might follow a jet, but much fainter. |
| Terminal flash | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Unknown |
| Remarks | - |
| Fragmentation | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | We saw at least 6 pieces come off the object about mid-way through the event and follow along behind it. They showed the varying colors that are noted in the previous section on color. The front mass maintained a bright white appearance. |