Reports Report 3749d (Event 3749-2023)
| Observer | |
|---|---|
| Name | Carl M |
| Experience Level | 4/5 |
| Remarks | I've seen 'space junk' burn up on reentry. This object was far too fast for space junk. What impressed me the most... it didn't "Explode" like a typical fireball, it "Divided" into two, if that makes sense? As I said, I've seen tens of thousands of meteors in my lifetime of observing. The only thing that impressed me more than this object was a green fireball I observed in 1962. |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Address | Sparks, NV |
| Latitude | 39° 34' 10.14'' N (39.569482°) |
| Longitude | 119° 43' 39.76'' W (-119.72771°) |
| Elevation | 1351.032227m |
| Time and Duration | |
|---|---|
| Local Date & Time | 2023-07-24 04:05 PDT |
| UT Date & Time | 2023-07-24 11:05 UT |
| Duration | ≈3.5s |
| Direction | |
|---|---|
| Moving direction | From up right to down left |
| Descent Angle | 212° |
| Moving | |
|---|---|
| Facing azimuth | 360° |
| First azimuth | 360° |
| First elevation | 40° |
| Last azimuth | 210° |
| Last elevation | 45° |
| Brightness and color | |
|---|---|
| Stellar Magnitude | -9 |
| Color | White center, red-orange glow around it, blue-white train approx 10 degrees long. Single fireball that after 45 degrees of travel (first seen near Polaris, then it split into two near the zenith. Two objects remained parallel until they went out of sight |
| Concurrent Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Delayed Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Persistent train | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Duration | 1s |
| Length | 10° |
| Remarks | blue-blue/white train as bright as the fireball, ten degrees in length and lasted one second. |
| Terminal flash | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Unknown |
| Remarks | - |
| Fragmentation | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | This is strange. I've been an amateur astronomer all my life and have seen tens of thousands of meteors. This object caught my peripheral vision when it appeared over a rooftop near Polaris, hence I didn't see it originate. I first saw it as a single object, large enough that I could see a round shape. After 45 degrees of travel, almost directly overhead, it divided into two, similar size objects traveling parallel to one another. My first thought; "This is the best pre-Perseid bolide I've seen in my life)! The two objects continued until I lost sight of it over another rooftop. The total length of travel I saw was ninety-degrees, and my observation lasted three seconds. Unlike 'space junk' that scatters into multiple pieces as it burns up, this object split, or divided into two equal size objects. |