at first it was fairly bright burning ball with trails on both sides getting wider as distance from the ball increased - seemed to be going slow but after I heard the boom and calculated that it must have been around 8 - 10 miles high - I reasoned that it must have been traveling at least 1000 MPH - When I first observed it in the north west at about 80 degrees elevation 340 degrees - traveling towards the south east it was bright but not lighting the sky - it appeared as maybe a airplane which was on fire - the fireball and the trails diminished within about 10 - 15 seconds and I only saw a dot of light for a couple of seconds then nothing - as I thought about it wondering if it was a plane or something else much higher - I surmised that if it were traveling fast that I should hear a sonic boom - a few seconds later - i heard the boom - which occurred about 30 to 45 seconds after sighting . I suppose that would be around 8 - 10 miles distance .
Location
Address
Jacksonville, FL
Latitude
30° 17' 40.17'' N (30.294492°)
Longitude
81° 33' 21.2'' W (-81.555888°)
Elevation
20.786238m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2021-09-30 22:55 EDT
UT Date & Time
2021-10-01 02:55 UT
Duration
≈20s
Direction
Moving direction
From down left to up right
Descent Angle
29°
Moving
Facing azimuth
2.53°
First azimuth
331.62°
First elevation
73°
Last azimuth
29.67°
Last elevation
90°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-9
Color
Orange, Yellow
Concurrent Sound
Observation
Unknown
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
Yes
Remarks
about 30 to 45 seconds after sighting - I was thinking maybe it was going about 1000 MPH and if so - I should hear a sonic boom - a few seconds after thinking that I heard a boom that was moderately loud but not as loud as the shuttle landing I have heard several years ago - I guess it may have been about 8 miles high - it has trailing stream on both sides that blossomed from narrow to wider as the trail lengthened - it seemed to be going slow and I supposed it was space debris rather than a meteor
