Reports Report 1448e (Event 1448-2011)

Observer
Name Linn
Experience Level 2/5
Remarks -
Location
Address Chapin, SC
Latitude 34° 8' 3.97'' N (34.134435°)
Longitude 81° 15' 14.72'' W (-81.254089°)
Elevation -
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time 2011-12-02 06:07 EST
UT Date & Time 2011-12-02 11:07 UT
Duration ≈1.5s
Direction
Moving direction From up left to down right
Descent Angle 135°
Moving
Facing azimuth 125.92177°
First azimuth 123.78425°
First elevation 40°
Last azimuth 127.19275°
Last elevation 35°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude -27
Color golden, yellow
Concurrent Sound
Observation No
Remarks -
Delayed Sound
Observation No
Remarks -
Persistent train
Observation No
Duration -1s
Length -1°
Remarks -
Terminal flash
Observation Yes
Remarks It happened so quick, it is hard to say... I was driving to work when a huge bright light suddenly appeared in the sky. I looked up just in time to see a very small, brief trail of light attached to a fire ball and then what looked like a small explosion, followed by nothing. One second it was there, the next it was gone. The initial trail may have been longer but it was very short by the time I noticed it. My first thought was someone must have been shooting off fireworks - the kind that arc and end in an explosion - only because it was situated so much lower in the sky than I had ever seen from a meteor. My next thought was perhaps a plane exploded but after further thought, I realized it\'s behavior was more meteor like than anything else. It was just so much brighter and lower on the horizon than any other meteor I had ever seen. In fact, it was rather large and I thought if a meteor was that big, this close to Earth, maybe I should be concerned... but then nothing else happened, so I just feel blessed to have been in a position to see it. Awesome!
Fragmentation
Observation Unknown
Remarks -