I do a lot of camping and backpacking and have seen many shooting stars but this was significantly brighter and with a longer tail than any I've ever seen. I've seen a few stars bright enough where the breakup was obvious but this was also much more noticeable with this one.
Location
Address
Bethesda, MD
Latitude
38° 59' 30.57'' N (38.991825°)
Longitude
77° 6' 11.53'' W (-77.103203°)
Elevation
105.23m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2016-01-30 18:00 EST
UT Date & Time
2016-01-30 23:00 UT
Duration
≈3.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From up right to down left
Descent Angle
246°
Moving
Facing azimuth
354.6°
First azimuth
341.11°
First elevation
53°
Last azimuth
339.36°
Last elevation
26°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-6
Color
Light Blue
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
Yes
Duration
1s
Length
15°
Remarks
No smoke, short afterglow
Terminal flash
Observation
Yes
Remarks
Shooting star broke apart, left brief small shimmer area
Fragmentation
Observation
Yes
Remarks
Small glowing dust area visible for about half a second after the object seemed to break apart
