Fireball report

Reports Report 304a (Event 304-2012)

Observer
Name	Scott M
Experience Level	3/5
Remarks	very bright and wide and very much like a firework in its flash.

Location
Address	Twentynine Palms, CA
Latitude	34° 7' 24.19'' N (34.123387°)
Longitude	115° 55' 5.85'' W (-115.918293°)
Elevation	-

Time and Duration
Local Date & Time	2012-02-28 23:35 PST
UT Date & Time	2012-02-29 07:35 UT
Duration	≈3.5s

Direction
Moving direction	From up right to down left
Descent Angle	225°

Moving
Facing azimuth	101.11982°
First azimuth	107.94102°
First elevation	80°
Last azimuth	80.0865°
Last elevation	40°

Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude	-13
Color	tail was white with sligh

Concurrent Sound
Observation	No
Remarks	-

Delayed Sound
Observation	No
Remarks	no booms

Persistent train
Observation	No
Duration	-1s
Length	-1°
Remarks	The trail started in the eastern sky above Eagle Mountain and descended in a south to northerly direction at about a 45 degree angle. The event lasted less than 10 seconds. The trail was long and wide from the start and got wider, very bright, white with a slight yellow shade. In the last second or two before the fireball the object had a short blue \"flame\" in addition to and in the interior of the original tail. When the fireball occurred it was orange and it almost seemed you could make out the dark negative of the object, all with a white glow around it and a flash before it was instantly all over. It was very bright and unfortunately the outside light behind me was on, still it is the best I have ever seen. This happened at about 11:35pm PST, Mojave Desert, California with clear eastern skies and no reflective/atmospheric light. There were also planes en route, dwarfed and dim in comparison.

Terminal flash
Observation	Yes
Remarks	The orange fireball was the underside of the object, which fluctuated halfway to three quarters of what seemed show a negative/black object. There was a white glow around it all. I could not make out any fragmentation, although the entry and fluctuation of the orange fire may have been. The fireball lasted a second or less. The tail that was occurring during the fireball and seconds prior was like a blue flame, shorter and within the original bright, long and wide tail. It was like a firework.

Terminal flash

Observation

Yes

Remarks

The orange fireball was the underside of the object, which fluctuated halfway to three quarters of what seemed show a negative/black object. There was a white glow around it all. I could not make out any fragmentation, although the entry and fluctuation of the orange fire may have been. The fireball lasted a second or less. The tail that was occurring during the fireball and seconds prior was like a blue flame, shorter and within the original bright, long and wide tail. It was like a firework.

Fragmentation
Observation	Unknown
Remarks	-