I am a guide and was around a campfire in the very dark desert. The moon had not come up at this time over the La Sals. Several of my clients watched this event. We suspect it was space debris of some sort. Awfully large for meteor or asteroid 'shower' particle. We figured it hit someplace in Moab unless it all burned out!
Location
Address
Moab, UT
Latitude
38° 34' 19.18'' N (38.571994°)
Longitude
109° 28' 24.63'' W (-109.473507°)
Elevation
1524.664185m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2012-12-31 22:30 MST
UT Date & Time
2013-01-01 05:30 UT
Duration
≈3.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From up left to down right
Descent Angle
135°
Moving
Facing azimuth
-
First azimuth
345°
First elevation
36°
Last azimuth
45°
Last elevation
29°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
1
Color
Orange, Yellow
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
Yes
Duration
2.5s
Length
10°
Remarks
showered sparks and smoky debris that faded when the fireball burnt out.
Terminal flash
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Fragmentation
Observation
Yes
Remarks
initially was one ball then broke up into 2 or 3 segments as it crossed the horizon. The sparks of the tail and smoke.
