It happened before the sky was fully dark. We see a lot of falling stars out where we on and this was about 10 times the size of a falling star and lasted a second or 2 longer.
Location
Address
Sterling, CO
Latitude
40° 42' 45.15'' N (40.712543°)
Longitude
103° 14' 52.07'' W (-103.247796°)
Elevation
1260.266602m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2025-12-16 17:09 MST
UT Date & Time
2025-12-17 00:09 UT
Duration
≈3.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From up left to down right
Descent Angle
101°
Moving
Facing azimuth
213.69°
First azimuth
171.79°
First elevation
51°
Last azimuth
239.75°
Last elevation
30°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-12
Color
Orange, Yellow, Red
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
Yes
Duration
2s
Length
8°
Remarks
The train was glowing and lighter colored
Terminal flash
Observation
Yes
Remarks
It looked like it burst into the atmosphere bright red and orange and then it started moving across the sky
