Fireball report

Reports Report 6109aus (Event 6109-2022)

Observer
Name	Wilson A
Experience Level	4/5
Remarks	I'm a very amateur astronomer with my own home observatory and 2 telescopes (Celestron CPC1100 & Nexstar 8SE) and am a retired senior electronics engineer having worked in the microchip design and the space & defense sectors. My wife and I were taking an evening walk whilst on a short holiday in Llandudno on Sept 14th. I don't know the exact time of the sighting so the time I entered is an estimate from memory and could be +/- half an hour (sorry!). We were walking along the promenade in the direction of the pier on a partially cloudy night when I first saw the object above cloud height with some visibility through the clouds and moving approximately from East to West. I drew my wife's attention to it and we were both spelbound. Sadly, whilst I had an iPhone with me, I don't believe I would have had time to switch it and the camera on before the object dissapeared over the Great Orme probably being visible to us for about 3 or 4 seconds in total. We didn't see the object incoming but just after it was overhead and its track was slightly lower in the sky than directly overhead initially being further out over the sea than when it dissapeared over the Great Orme. It was a stunning sight but I was so taken with it I'd not considered taking any measurements. It was only the next day when I noticed something similar reported at a higher latitude (Glasgow & Northern Ireland) at a similar time that I realised it may be more significant. My wife believes it had a tail that changed from white to pale green although I don't recall it however we both agree it appeared to be breaking up at the sides in the final moments and the edges has a slightly greenish tinge. We jointly believe the object was about 10% of the full moon in size. Being from Hampshire I belong to a Facebook group called 'Hants Asto'. The following is the report I posted in that group on the evening of 15th September :- "For general interest Mylene and I were walking along the seafront at Llandudno last night and saw a very strange object moving rapidly across the sky above cloud height. It initially appeared like a very large white shooting star that moved right across the bay disappearing over the Great Orme. To us it appeared to have a greenish tinge during the final part of our observation and also looked like it might be breaking up. It was visible through some of the less dense clouds too. We have been wondering if it was a piece of space debris and this evening we discovered this article…" (The article mentioned was a press report relating to whatever was seen at a higher latitude).

Location
Address	Llandudno, Wales (GB)
Latitude	53° 19' 29.55'' N (53.324875°)
Longitude	3° 49' 39.89'' W (-3.827748°)
Elevation	6.552027m

Time and Duration
Local Date & Time	2022-09-14 21:45 BST
UT Date & Time	2022-09-14 20:45 UT
Duration	≈3.5s

Direction
Moving direction	From down right to up left
Descent Angle	271°

Moving
Facing azimuth	314.12°
First azimuth	356.45°
First elevation	82°
Last azimuth	332.13°
Last elevation	46°

Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude	-13
Color	Light Green, White

Concurrent Sound
Observation	No
Remarks	-

Delayed Sound
Observation	No
Remarks	-

Persistent train
Observation	No
Duration	-
Length	-
Remarks	-

Terminal flash
Observation	No
Remarks	-

Fragmentation
Observation	Yes
Remarks	There were some clouds, it was above cloud height and partially visible through clouds but it appeared to be slightly breaking up but only at the sides with a greenish tinge as we watched it disappear over The Great Orme in Llandudno North Wales. It wasn't like any shooting star I've ever seen and was slower and more majestic without extinguishing but disappearing out of sight. We (my wife and I) wondered if it might hit the Great Orme but I suspect it passed over it and out of sight. Unfortunately, despite being an amateur astronomer, the date is correct but the timing is an estimate and wasn't recorded. What I can say is that it was similar to the sightings in Scotland and Northern Ireland but it was almost overhead so in my opinion a different object. I wonder if a larger object had broken up into several fragments one of which passed over us.

Fragmentation

Observation

Yes

Remarks

There were some clouds, it was above cloud height and partially visible through clouds but it appeared to be slightly breaking up but only at the sides with a greenish tinge as we watched it disappear over The Great Orme in Llandudno North Wales. It wasn't like any shooting star I've ever seen and was slower and more majestic without extinguishing but disappearing out of sight. We (my wife and I) wondered if it might hit the Great Orme but I suspect it passed over it and out of sight. Unfortunately, despite being an amateur astronomer, the date is correct but the timing is an estimate and wasn't recorded. What I can say is that it was similar to the sightings in Scotland and Northern Ireland but it was almost overhead so in my opinion a different object. I wonder if a larger object had broken up into several fragments one of which passed over us.