At first I thought it was a firework or flare, but it was so bright and had no sound I realized it was a meteor. I later found out five friends all located west of Richmond saw it
Location
Address
Hadensville, VA
Latitude
37° 50' 42.48'' N (37.845133°)
Longitude
77° 59' 19.78'' W (-77.988828°)
Elevation
119.198m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2016-01-30 18:17 EST
UT Date & Time
2016-01-30 23:17 UT
Duration
≈3.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From up right to down left
Descent Angle
261°
Moving
Facing azimuth
358.34°
First azimuth
4.24°
First elevation
44°
Last azimuth
98.52°
Last elevation
29°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-13
Color
Light Yellow
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
Yes
Duration
2s
Length
7°
Remarks
Glowing that remained as the fireball broke up and then quickly faded
Terminal flash
Observation
Yes
Remarks
Fireball streaked leaving a tail and then grew brighter, fragmented into 3 visible pieces and then fizzled out
Fragmentation
Observation
Yes
Remarks
At very end there was the original large ball, a smaller fragment above the largest ball and then a much smaller fragment below
