Fireball report

Reports Report 1750aef (Event 1750-2016)

Observer
Name	Marcus P
Experience Level	3/5
Remarks	By far the best meteor I have ever personally seen. It was amazing.

Location
Address	Smithfield, RI
Latitude	41° 54' 53.85'' N (41.914959°)
Longitude	71° 30' 8.92'' W (-71.502479°)
Elevation	108.522m

Time and Duration
Local Date & Time	2016-05-17 00:50 EDT
UT Date & Time	2016-05-17 04:50 UT
Duration	≈20s

Direction
Moving direction	From up left to down right
Descent Angle	179°

Moving
Facing azimuth	-
First azimuth	-
First elevation	55°
Last azimuth	1°
Last elevation	20°

Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude	-17
Color	Dark Green, Green, Light Green, White

Concurrent Sound
Observation	No
Remarks	-

Delayed Sound
Observation	No
Remarks	-

Persistent train
Observation	No
Duration	-
Length	-
Remarks	-

Terminal flash
Observation	Yes
Remarks	As I first saw it I knew it was meteor. I have see similar green color during a meteor shower as a kid. But not anywhere near as intense. I thought the amount and intensity of the green was really cool. It was shaped more like a blob than a streak when I first saw it but there was probably a cloud in the way because after a short time I developed into a more linear shape. It was what I imagine being strafed by a tie fighter or like fired upon by Romulans would look like. I expected it to turn orange and firey and then fade out to a purple and then then faint red like the one I saw as a youth.... But no, I was shocked when it got bigger and bigger and brighter until it sparked up to a bright white (still trailing a faint gren). Now where I was standing there is always a little distant light polution and a couple of street lights within 200yrds of me but it is very dark. Dark enough where if a person walks about 10ft away they vanish. So when I say it light up my whole yard like a lighting flash (but it lasted a lot longer) I want you to understand it was itense and a little frightening. To look at the object was like watching somone weld. I've never seen anything like it... For an instant I thought it might have been a missile or at least a meteor that was going to acctually hit the earth. I backed up the stairs behind me and into the threshold where l grabed the door with the the intention to shut and brace it in case of a shock wave... My fear probably made it seem longer but it quickly disapaed as the shadows it created as it approached the horizion grew tall and moved somewhat clockwise indicating that it was moving away from and slightly to the right (North possibly slightly NE). The object cast white light on the ground and at the peak of it's brightness was bright white with a slightly pinkish lense flared look about it. It seemed to change shape a little but unlike the video I saw online it never appeared to me to be two objects. I'm guessing my angle made the two look like one or it made it to the horizon before it split. I didn't notice any streak after the flash but my night vision was surley gone at that point. This was by far the most spectacular meteor I have ever seen. The green was vivid and beautiful and the flash as it burned up the brightest I've ever seen.

Terminal flash

Observation

Yes

Remarks

As I first saw it I knew it was meteor. I have see similar green color during a meteor shower as a kid. But not anywhere near as intense. I thought the amount and intensity of the green was really cool. It was shaped more like a blob than a streak when I first saw it but there was probably a cloud in the way because after a short time I developed into a more linear shape. It was what I imagine being strafed by a tie fighter or like fired upon by Romulans would look like. I expected it to turn orange and firey and then fade out to a purple and then then faint red like the one I saw as a youth.... But no, I was shocked when it got bigger and bigger and brighter until it sparked up to a bright white (still trailing a faint gren). Now where I was standing there is always a little distant light polution and a couple of street lights within 200yrds of me but it is very dark. Dark enough where if a person walks about 10ft away they vanish. So when I say it light up my whole yard like a lighting flash (but it lasted a lot longer) I want you to understand it was itense and a little frightening. To look at the object was like watching somone weld. I've never seen anything like it... For an instant I thought it might have been a missile or at least a meteor that was going to acctually hit the earth. I backed up the stairs behind me and into the threshold where l grabed the door with the the intention to shut and brace it in case of a shock wave... My fear probably made it seem longer but it quickly disapaed as the shadows it created as it approached the horizion grew tall and moved somewhat clockwise indicating that it was moving away from and slightly to the right (North possibly slightly NE). The object cast white light on the ground and at the peak of it's brightness was bright white with a slightly pinkish lense flared look about it. It seemed to change shape a little but unlike the video I saw online it never appeared to me to be two objects. I'm guessing my angle made the two look like one or it made it to the horizon before it split. I didn't notice any streak after the flash but my night vision was surley gone at that point. This was by far the most spectacular meteor I have ever seen. The green was vivid and beautiful and the flash as it burned up the brightest I've ever seen.

Fragmentation
Observation	No
Remarks	-