Reports Report 3153o (Event 3153-2023)
| Observer | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bernard B |
| Experience Level | 3/5 |
| Remarks | It is possible that what I witnessed was space debris falling back to Earth because of the size and brightness of the glow from the tail and especially the size and intensity of the flash when the fireball impacted behind Tucson Mountains in the western horizon. I was driving westward toward the Tucson Mountains that were about 10 - 15 miles west of me. I have seen many meteorites in my lifetime, but never anything to this extent. The size of the flash at impact had to place it west of the Tucson Mountains in Picture Rocks or Avra Valley or somewhere west of there! I've found nothing in the local news or on Google so far, so I hope someone else besides me reported this fireball!! |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Address | Tucson, AZ |
| Latitude | 32° 18' 41.59'' N (32.311552°) |
| Longitude | 111° 2' 11.73'' W (-111.036593°) |
| Elevation | 681.295593m |
| Time and Duration | |
|---|---|
| Local Date & Time | 2023-06-23 02:25 MST |
| UT Date & Time | 2023-06-23 09:25 UT |
| Duration | ≈20s |
| Direction | |
|---|---|
| Moving direction | From up left to down right |
| Descent Angle | 148° |
| Moving | |
|---|---|
| Facing azimuth | 250.57° |
| First azimuth | 242.66° |
| First elevation | 45° |
| Last azimuth | 251.1° |
| Last elevation | - |
| Brightness and color | |
|---|---|
| Stellar Magnitude | -10 |
| Color | Green, Light Green, Yellow, Brown |
| Concurrent Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Delayed Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Persistent train | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Duration | 2s |
| Length | 20° |
| Remarks | When I first spotted the fireball, it looked like a large shooting star but not streaking downward quite as fast. The tail started short, then got longer and longer and turned greenish in color. Then for 3 or 4 seconds as it approached the Tucson Mountain range (from my Vantage point looking west), it grew in width with a distinct brownish object at the front and a gaseous tail that was green to light green and some yellow like flames along the outer edges of the tail leaving a distinct smoke trail. As you'll see below, rhe tail got broader and broader as the fireball began to fragment (no explosion, just piece brewing off and spreading away from the main fireball) |
| Terminal flash | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | A split second or so before the fireball disappeared behind the Tucson Mountains, a light greenish color began to glow behind the mountain range (from the ground up). Then as soon as the fireball disappeared behind the highest peak (Mount Wasson) there was a HUGE green/light green flash that lit up the entire western horizon with the profile of the Tucson Mountains in the foreground! The flash reminded me of the color & glow you see when a lightning bolt strikes an electrical transformer or substation on the ground and the transformers explode! The flash pulsated for a second or two before subsiding. |
| Fragmentation | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | 2 or 3 seconds before the fireball disappeared behind Wasson Peak in the Tucson Mountains, it appear to break up into 5 or 6 pieces (1large fragment and smaller other fragments that spread away from the main one making the smoke trail wider and wider as the fireball approached impact! |