At around 05:52 on 8/9/19 I witnessed a VERY BRIGHT meteor break up in the air into 4 or more dazzlingly bright pieces and several smaller ones whilst taking photos from the roof terrace of room 311 of the Fourcroft hotel Tenby (51 40’ 32” N 4 42’ 10” W). It came in at the SE about 20 degrees elevation and I estimate it was about mag -8 to mag -12 with the trail starting whilst taking a 4 sec exposure over the Lifeboat station at bearing 130 degrees. It streaked below Sirius then intensified as it fragmented. I couldn’t believe my eyes and I turned the camera to take another shot aiming towards the church spire and recorded it streaking on past the hotel roof towards the south (bearing ~200 degrees) at some 15 degrees elevation. It was similar to debris associated with a satellite breaking up upon returning to Earth. An amazing sight!
Photo
Location
Address
Tenby, Wales (GB)
Latitude
51° 40' 29.67'' N (51.674907°)
Longitude
4° 42' 8.17'' W (-4.70227°)
Elevation
19.496336m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2019-09-08 05:50 BST
UT Date & Time
2019-09-08 04:50 UT
Duration
≈20s
Direction
Moving direction
From up left to down right
Descent Angle
130°
Moving
Facing azimuth
130°
First azimuth
135°
First elevation
20°
Last azimuth
200°
Last elevation
15°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-9
Color
White
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
broke up in the air into 4 or more dazzlingly bright pieces and several smaller ones
