Reports Report 143c (Event 143-2012)
| Observer | |
|---|---|
| Name | Corinne S |
| Experience Level | 1/5 |
| Remarks | Couldn\'t adequately indicate my position relative to the object on the map with this iPad... I saw it outside my left front driver\'s side car window, about 2/3 way up the window (Honda Civic) as I drove. I first noticed it as a very bright star, then thought \"airplane headlights\" then realized there was a tail, then saw the color change and bright \"expansion\" then disappearance. it appeared to fall almost straight down, in the west-northwest, almost, really, north. I think I was going north-northeast. Sky was clear then, I like to admire the stars and was looking at them periodically. this was bright, got brighter, more colorful, expanded and disappeared in a very short time. beautiful.. I am guessing space junk burn-up or a piece of random space rock. thanks for listening and for checking out these sightings. |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Address | not sure half way between Bangor & Hoult, ME |
| Latitude | 45° 35' 55.2'' N (45.598666°) |
| Longitude | 68° 31' 18.22'' W (-68.521729°) |
| Elevation | - |
| Time and Duration | |
|---|---|
| Local Date & Time | 2012-01-29 00:30 EST |
| UT Date & Time | 2012-01-29 05:30 UT |
| Duration | ≈3.5s |
| Direction | |
|---|---|
| Moving direction | From up right to down left |
| Descent Angle | 225° |
| Moving | |
|---|---|
| Facing azimuth | 111.95038° |
| First azimuth | -1° |
| First elevation | 45° |
| Last azimuth | -1° |
| Last elevation | 30° |
| Brightness and color | |
|---|---|
| Stellar Magnitude | 1 |
| Color | White to yellow to red th |
| Concurrent Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Delayed Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | No sound audible, but I was driving on highway with cleated tires which are very noisy, and had the radio on too. |
| Persistent train | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Duration | -1s |
| Length | -1° |
| Remarks | it had a very brief \"tail\" -- but it is what made me realize this was a \"comet\" like object and not a star. At first I thought it was an airplane\'s headlights but just as I thought that, appeared the yellow color, the \"tail\" and then it appeared to expand (explode?) somewhat, and became briefly yellow-red- then green, a very bright green, in fact. And that is a color I haven\'t ever seen in the starry night sky! The tail seemed to follow from above as the object fell down towards earth, and seemed to \"burn up\". I recall thinking at least it didn\'t appear to me to hit the earth. (I might have been closer to Bangor than to Houlton; no long after I saw the object, I noticed the absence of stars and the roadway had snow on it, so that I had to slow considerably. I left Bangor airport around 11:20-11:30 pm, drove the speed limit except where snowy as I was eager to get home after a long day of flying.) |
| Terminal flash | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | So fast! the green color was brilliant, with yellow and white preceding, some red but it happened so fast and I was driving, couldn\'t watch with full long attention. I was aware of a kind of expansion or explosion event at the end though, my impression is that it was a burning up rather than an actual explosion, but it had gotten bigger very briefly at the very end. |
| Fragmentation | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | - |