Fireball report

Reports Report 5377a (Event 5377-2016)

Observer
Name	Chris S
Experience Level	4/5
Remarks	I once observed a much larger similar event about 13 years ago in the summer, where a brilliant white meteor came up over the southern horizon and as it grew higher and closer, the object appeared to be slowing down and cooling through yellow to orange. It passed to the east of where I was, leaving a trail of sparks almost exactly like the sighting above. Max altitude of the object's trajectory was about 70° up from the eastern horizon. That time I watched the trail of sparks seem to peter out and I definitely saw a dim tiny glowing orange object continuing along its flight path for at least 20° before it appeared to have cooled sufficiently to be no longer visible. I did not have the means to report the sighting at the time. I hope this similar sighting helps somebody recover a meteorite this time.

Location
Address	Buhl, ID
Latitude	42° 37' 22.72'' N (42.622977°)
Longitude	114° 43' 36.53'' W (-114.726813°)
Elevation	1102.671m

Time and Duration
Local Date & Time	2016-12-28 21:51 MST
UT Date & Time	2016-12-29 04:51 UT
Duration	≈3.5s

Direction
Moving direction	From down right to up left
Descent Angle	273°

Moving
Facing azimuth	285.59°
First azimuth	333.01°
First elevation	18°
Last azimuth	267.8°
Last elevation	30°

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

Concurrent Sound
Observation	No
Remarks	-

Delayed Sound
Observation	No
Remarks	-

Persistent train
Observation	No
Duration	-
Length	-
Remarks	-

Terminal flash
Observation	No
Remarks	-

Fragmentation
Observation	Yes
Remarks	When it first became visible it was bright yellowish-white and had a 2° comet-like white train. As it slowed and the meteor appeared to be cooling (getting dimmer, turning to yellow, then to orange) the tail resolved into hundreds of tiny sparks, still about 2-3° long, similar to those seen when iron is sharpened on a grinder. The meteor seemed to go invisible for a few tenths of a second before reappearing with a dimmer, larger, and more orange train of glowing sparks. After this final burst of sparks a fading dimly glowing orange object continued along the path for a couple of degrees before becoming too faint to follow--just before entering the main great square of Pegasus (constellation). It was much faster than a satellite, but slower, especially at the end, than typical meteors, lasting close to five seconds, where normal meteors last maybe one second in my experience. In my opinion, I think that I watched the end of the ablation of a small solid meteorite (nickel-iron maybe?) and the surviving fragment simply became too slow and cool to be visible anymore; no terminal explosion, so it maybe landed intact, probably in northern Nevada somewhere.

Fragmentation

Observation

Yes

Remarks

When it first became visible it was bright yellowish-white and had a 2° comet-like white train. As it slowed and the meteor appeared to be cooling (getting dimmer, turning to yellow, then to orange) the tail resolved into hundreds of tiny sparks, still about 2-3° long, similar to those seen when iron is sharpened on a grinder. The meteor seemed to go invisible for a few tenths of a second before reappearing with a dimmer, larger, and more orange train of glowing sparks. After this final burst of sparks a fading dimly glowing orange object continued along the path for a couple of degrees before becoming too faint to follow--just before entering the main great square of Pegasus (constellation). It was much faster than a satellite, but slower, especially at the end, than typical meteors, lasting close to five seconds, where normal meteors last maybe one second in my experience. In my opinion, I think that I watched the end of the ablation of a small solid meteorite (nickel-iron maybe?) and the surviving fragment simply became too slow and cool to be visible anymore; no terminal explosion, so it maybe landed intact, probably in northern Nevada somewhere.