Reports Report 3868v (Event 3868-2026)
| Observer | |
|---|---|
| Name | Marie S |
| Experience Level | 3/5 |
| Remarks | I took a couple astronomy classes when I was in college about 10 years ago, so I am very familiar with the way different things can appear like something else in the sky. I don't know exactly if it was a meteorite, or something else completely, but it was definitely something burning, falling pretty close (almost concerningly so since the area is very prone to wildfires. And it was a very clear and defined shape) to where I saw it from until it disappeared behind the tree line of the neighborhood. |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Address | Rocklin, CA |
| Latitude | 38° 46' 28.8'' N (38.774668°) |
| Longitude | 121° 14' 48.85'' W (-121.246902°) |
| Elevation | 69.510033m |
| Time and Duration | |
|---|---|
| Local Date & Time | 2026-05-30 22:29 PDT |
| UT Date & Time | 2026-05-31 05:29 UT |
| Duration | ≈7.5s |
| Direction | |
|---|---|
| Moving direction | From up right to down left |
| Descent Angle | 185° |
| Moving | |
|---|---|
| Facing azimuth | 358.76° |
| First azimuth | 355.78° |
| First elevation | 53° |
| Last azimuth | 354.76° |
| Last elevation | 8° |
| Brightness and color | |
|---|---|
| Stellar Magnitude | -11 |
| Color | Orange, Yellow, Red |
| Concurrent Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Unknown |
| Remarks | - |
| Delayed Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Unknown |
| Remarks | - |
| Persistent train | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Duration | 1.5s |
| Length | 12° |
| Remarks | At first I thought it was a meteor because of the trail, but then I realized it was a very clear ball of fire that was a lot closer than a meteor you'd sort of just catch sight of by chance in the distance or up high in the sky, so then I thought it was maybe something that caught fire and was falling quickly to crash somewhere because of how almost straight down the trajectory seemed. It looked very distinctly like a ball of something on fire with a relatively bright trail, especially for the area. It was a well-lit suburban area right off of the freeway very close to a bunch of shopping centers. The sky and the direction behind it wasn't as bright as the sides or behind me, but it was definitely bright enough and large enough that it was a very noticeably high contrast to the backdrop of the sky considering how much light pollution there was. |
| Terminal flash | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Unknown |
| Remarks | - |
| Fragmentation | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |