Reports Report 491j (Event 491-2020)
| Observer | |
|---|---|
| Name | David P |
| Experience Level | 3/5 |
| Remarks | I acknowledge the possibility that this may have been an amateur firework, but I am fairly certain that it was not. The main reason is that fireworks nearly always explode while on the upward trajectory, with the shower of sparks then arcing back down to earth. The fireball I saw first became visible while in a trajectory nearly straight down from altitude, moving much faster than what I associate with fireworks, and the explosion did not "bloom" outward but simply multiplied the single large streak into smaller streaks all parallel and in tight formation to the original, before vanishing. Furthermore, the event was much larger than I would associate with amateur fireworks. I don't know how to describe how I know this, but it was just brighter and wider and more sudden than any firework I've seen. It was wide enough that it looked like it was very close, as if it something was crashing down just a few hundred yards away. |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Address | Clearwater, FL |
| Latitude | 27° 54' 57.37'' N (27.915936°) |
| Longitude | 82° 42' 33.51'' W (-82.709307°) |
| Elevation | 4.272303m |
| Time and Duration | |
|---|---|
| Local Date & Time | 2020-01-26 00:31 EST |
| UT Date & Time | 2020-01-26 05:31 UT |
| Duration | ≈1.5s |
| Direction | |
|---|---|
| Moving direction | From up left to down right |
| Descent Angle | 177° |
| Moving | |
|---|---|
| Facing azimuth | 73.15° |
| First azimuth | 73.97° |
| First elevation | 55° |
| Last azimuth | 73.37° |
| Last elevation | 24° |
| Brightness and color | |
|---|---|
| Stellar Magnitude | -14 |
| Color | White |
| Concurrent Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Delayed Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Persistent train | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Unknown |
| Duration | - |
| Length | - |
| Remarks | - |
| Terminal flash | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | The object began as a sudden long streak of light, brightening over the course of about a second until it "shattered" into smaller sparks like a firework but all with the same downward trajectory. |
| Fragmentation | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | The fragments after the terminal flash moved slightly out and parallel to the main body of the object in at least two smaller trails while maintaining the same trajectory (downward). |