It was amazing to watch from a passenger seat of an airplane. I first saw it at an altitude higher than the aircraft and I believe it was lower than the aircraft when it 'burned up'. It was the final stages of dusk (orange glow over mountains) but the fireball was clearly visible and very bright to the end. Then it completely disappeared before reaching the ground, so I assume it fragmented at that point.
Location
Address
Newman, CA
Latitude
37° 18' 49.08'' N (37.31°)
Longitude
121° 1' 15.02'' W (-121.02°)
Elevation
26.81m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2018-12-29 17:45 PST
UT Date & Time
2018-12-30 01:45 UT
Duration
≈3.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From down left to up right
Descent Angle
24°
Moving
Facing azimuth
90°
First azimuth
90°
First elevation
59°
Last azimuth
90°
Last elevation
13°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-12
Color
Light Blue
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
No
Duration
-
Length
-
Remarks
-
Terminal flash
Observation
Yes
Remarks
I was viewing the meteor (?) from my seat on flight UA 5395. The information provided on previous screens was a total guess. From the perspective of the flight, the fireball was moving almost vertically. It came into view at the top of the passenger window (seat 1A) at about 5:44 PM and moved almost vertically. At first it had a red glow and then ended with a white fireball. I believe it was below the altitude of the aircraft when it burned up and I would guess 10-20 miles directly towards the setting sun (due west?). Perhaps you could pinpoint the direct using Flightaware or other flight tracking software. The location relative to the aircraft direction was approximately 75 degrees (90 degrees being directly perpendicular to the aircraft or looking perpendicularly straight out the window.
