Reports Report 2a (Event 2-1996)
| Observer | |
|---|---|
| Name | Andrew P |
| Experience Level | 1/5 |
| Remarks | I only submit this report due to the fact we had a recent visit from a Professor I believe was from USC astronomy dept. He gave a lecture here about meteorites and it sparked my memory. I was driving and my Military driving buddy was already sleeping 1 hour out of San Diego. We were being sent to the SEAL training facility At Mare Island Naval base in Vallejo , California. I had my drivers window down a bit so I could smoke while I drove to keep me awake. We left san Diego at Mid night so we would arrive in Vallejo, California around 9 am. I heard the sonic boom and looked left, I saw the fire ball streak across the sky left to right about 1000 feet over the freeway no more than a few miles ahead of me. This part of Interstate 5 is kinda bare, hills on the right and Ocean on the left. The fireballs height and angle had it pass between the 2 dominant peaks East of Interstate 5 and onto Camp Pendleton. I have never forgotten this moment and have thought about it often and am glad I can now report it. Thank you for your time. |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Address | Oceanside, CA |
| Latitude | 33° 21' 24.8'' N (33.356888°) |
| Longitude | 117° 31' 54.27'' W (-117.531742°) |
| Elevation | 56.717m |
| Time and Duration | |
|---|---|
| Local Date & Time | 1996-03-15 01:30 PDT |
| UT Date & Time | 1996-03-15 09:30 UT |
| Duration | ≈3.5s |
| Direction | |
|---|---|
| Moving direction | From up left to down right |
| Descent Angle | 94° |
| Moving | |
|---|---|
| Facing azimuth | 312.61° |
| First azimuth | 259.88° |
| First elevation | 15° |
| Last azimuth | 20.05° |
| Last elevation | 15° |
| Brightness and color | |
|---|---|
| Stellar Magnitude | -26 |
| Color | Green, Light Yellow |
| Concurrent Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | I heard a sonic boom just as I caught sight of the meteorite. The fireball streak across from left to right about 1000 feet over Interstate 5, and went between the two hill peaks east of Interstate 5, again between the two peaks as viewed from Interstate 5. |
| Delayed Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | The sonic boom and sighting the fireball were almost at the exact same time. |
| Persistent train | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Duration | - |
| Length | - |
| Remarks | - |
| Terminal flash | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Fragmentation | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |