I thought it was a shooting star but so much closer and brighter and much longer lasting than anything I had seen before. It lasted long enough for me to point it out to others saying it was a shooting star and then for a split second wonder if it was some aircraft going up in flames but the tail was very comet like and glowing white;then it fragmented and looked more orange and fiery and I knew it was something stellar. It seemed much closer than any shooting star I have ever seen.
Location
Address
Fresno, CA
Latitude
36° 51' 4.6'' N (36.851278°)
Longitude
119° 48' 20.96'' W (-119.805822°)
Elevation
-
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2012-10-17 19:45 PDT
UT Date & Time
2012-10-18 02:45 UT
Duration
≈7.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From right to left
Descent Angle
270°
Moving
Facing azimuth
270.15806°
First azimuth
271.38092°
First elevation
63°
Last azimuth
289.95757°
Last elevation
49°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
1
Color
bright white and fiery or
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
Unknown
Duration
7.5s
Length
-1°
Remarks
The train seemed quite long ad started out glowing white and then got more orange closer to the mass right before it disappeared.
Terminal flash
Observation
Unknown
Remarks
I don\'t know what to say here other than it was stunning..It did seem to break up before it disappeared.
