Was walking my dog & it was a cold night & didnt see many people out and as I turned north on 18th st. I saw this fireball & my first thought was wow thats a huge firework but instead of going up it kept traveling paralell & as I watched in amazement I saw a plane coming over the deleware river(the usual route to phila. intl) and for a second I thought it might have been a missile because it was heading directly for the plane & just then I saw a piece break off & that was it. Would love to know what the pilot/passengers may have seen.
Location
Address
Philadelphia, PA
Latitude
39° 54' 31.47'' N (39.908742°)
Longitude
75° 10' 42.56'' W (-75.178488°)
Elevation
6.310262m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2013-03-22 19:52 EDT
UT Date & Time
2013-03-22 23:52 UT
Duration
≈7.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From left to right
Descent Angle
90°
Moving
Facing azimuth
358.83°
First azimuth
307.82°
First elevation
25°
Last azimuth
81.6°
Last elevation
29°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-20
Color
Purple, Green
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
No
Duration
-1s
Length
-1°
Remarks
-
Terminal flash
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Fragmentation
Observation
Yes
Remarks
It was heading directly, from my sightline, for a plane which seemed to be over the deleware river & I saw a small piece break off & then it seemed to disappear.
