I'm a tenured English professor at the University of Delaware and have a Ph.D. (I mention this to establish credibility). I was walking my dog just before 6:00AM. After I saw the fireball, I remembered that there was supposed to be a meteor showing between the 13th and 15th. It was amazing.
Location
Address
Newark, DE
Latitude
39° 41' 26.06'' N (39.690571°)
Longitude
75° 43' 22.21'' W (-75.722836°)
Elevation
27.238905m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2021-12-15 06:00 EST
UT Date & Time
2021-12-15 11:00 UT
Duration
≈3.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From up left to down right
Descent Angle
95°
Moving
Facing azimuth
91.27°
First azimuth
88°
First elevation
53°
Last azimuth
120°
Last elevation
46°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-18
Color
Orange
Concurrent Sound
Observation
Unknown
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
Unknown
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
Yes
Duration
1s
Length
10°
Remarks
glowing orange train. It appeared as an orange ball, moved across the horizon, split and then the splits left a train
Terminal flash
Observation
Unknown
Remarks
-
Fragmentation
Observation
Yes
Remarks
see above. The one orange ball split into a few large fragments and then into more.
