All I can say is Wow! What a rush! I have no idea the size of this thing but I could imagine this object migth be the size of a gof ball. The bal of fire and tail could not have been missed. When I was driving, it got my attention very quickly in spite of the fact that I was merging into the highway.
Location
Address
Summit, NJ
Latitude
40° 43' 50.25'' N (40.730625°)
Longitude
74° 20' 59.29'' W (-74.349804°)
Elevation
-
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2011-02-14 12:40 EST
UT Date & Time
2011-02-14 17:40 UT
Duration
≈1.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From up to down
Descent Angle
180°
Moving
Facing azimuth
132.7083°
First azimuth
114.97187°
First elevation
45°
Last azimuth
115.96061°
Last elevation
-
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-11
Color
Blue white tail, some ora
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
Could hear no sound. Vehice noise, opened window wind noise.
Persistent train
Observation
No
Duration
1.5s
Length
-1°
Remarks
The object caught my view because I was facing it as I entered the highway. It was very short duration and it seemed to be very close. It moved very fast and I would guess that the object was not more than 10 miles away but I wouldn\'t be suprise that it was closer. This came down slightly at an angle (say 88 degrees to the surface). I could see some orange sparks off the ball. There was very little smoke but that seemed to dissipitate quickly. The event was hard to follow because I was driving and merging onto Route 24 East.
Terminal flash
Observation
No
Remarks
The fire ball disappeared beyond the horizon ahead (trees, buildings, etc.). Saw no flash and it was bright daylight.
