Reports Report 6710e (Event 6710-2020)

This report has been linked to the following event: Event 6710-2020
Observer
NameRebecca V
Experience Level2/5
RemarksWe were driving home from a failed meteor watching excursion. As we were heading south on Avocado Blvd, right before getting on Hyw 94, we caught the quick flash and one of us thought fireworks, another thought a small plane had just exploded...and then we all realized it wasn’t either. I had just read about fireballs today and thought, what are the odds? My daughter Googled ‘fireball in the sky’ and said she believes it IS what we all saw. It appeared oddly large to me through the car windshield, but it appeared and disappeared very quickly. We had no time to get a photo or video- it was over too soon.
Location
AddressLa Mesa, CA
Latitude32° 44' 45.66'' N (32.75°)
Longitude 116° 57' 49.19'' W (-116.96°)
Elevation172.37m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time2020-11-16 20:25 PST
UT Date & Time2020-11-17 04:25 UT
Duration≈3.5s
Direction
Moving directionFrom up left to down right
Descent Angle107°
Moving
Facing azimuth219.05°
First azimuth185.49°
First elevation31°
Last azimuth228.01°
Last elevation19°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude-4
ColorOrange, Yellow
Concurrent Sound
ObservationNo
Remarks-
Delayed Sound
ObservationNo
Remarks-
Persistent train
ObservationYes
Duration2s
Length35°
RemarksSmoke trail that dissipated quickly
Terminal flash
ObservationYes
RemarksBright ‘explosion’. At first we thought it was a firework but quickly realized it was too large, too round, and did not behave the way fireworks do. It caught us by total surprise!
Fragmentation
ObservationYes
RemarksAlmost like a small, round explosion as it arched.