I have seen 15 years of this coast lines night sky ( and 15 in the Sierras ) and i have never seen a brighter, longer fireball. It came up from the horizon and crossed the entire sky leaving the tail for just over 10 seconds before it stated fading pretty fast. Then came the sonic boom.
Location
Address
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Latitude
36° 30' 25.86'' N (36.507183°)
Longitude
121° 56' 12.25'' W (-121.936737°)
Elevation
36.598137m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2026-01-15 00:35 PST
UT Date & Time
2026-01-15 08:35 UT
Duration
≈20s
Direction
Moving direction
From down right to up left
Descent Angle
311°
Moving
Facing azimuth
278.75°
First azimuth
270.96°
First elevation
-
Last azimuth
113.13°
Last elevation
41°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-13
Color
Orange
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
Yes
Remarks
about 2 full min after it passed out of my sight i and others heard a sonic boom
