Reports Report 381g (Event 381-2015)
This report has been linked to the following event: Event 381-2015
| Observer | |
|---|---|
| Name | Gossett C |
| Experience Level | 1/5 |
| Remarks | I have spoken with several people that witnessed the bright flash in the sky this morning. One person reported they saw the sky light up from North Park in Pittsburgh at that time while he was running. That is 40 miles south of my location. He said it lit up the entire park. I was shoveling snow at the time and the sidewalk lit up. I immediately looked up and saw the projectile just before it fizzled out. Maybe for a second or two, if that. I thought it was a flair at first because it seemed to only be a 100 feet over my head. Then when so many others told me the saw the flash from 3 miles, 7 miles, and now 40 miles away, a science teacher friend told me it must have been a fireball. I've never seen anything like it. I hope you get other reports of this incident with more detail. But as far as I know, I'm the only person I know that saw the projectile. Everyone else just saw the sky light up. |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Address | Kittanning, PA |
| Latitude | 40° 48' 43.42'' N (40.81°) |
| Longitude | 79° 31' 44.16'' W (-79.53°) |
| Elevation | 310.98m |
| Time and Duration | |
|---|---|
| Local Date & Time | 2015-02-17 04:52 EST |
| UT Date & Time | 2015-02-17 09:52 UT |
| Duration | ≈1.5s |
| Direction | |
|---|---|
| Moving direction | From right to left |
| Descent Angle | 270° |
| Moving | |
|---|---|
| Facing azimuth | 168.81° |
| First azimuth | - |
| First elevation | 90° |
| Last azimuth | - |
| Last elevation | 89° |
| Brightness and color | |
|---|---|
| Stellar Magnitude | -20 |
| Color | Light Blue, White |
| Concurrent Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Delayed Sound | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Remarks | Within a minute or two of seeing the projectile, I heard of series of pops to the East of me. They were very faint, and happened very quickly. Maybe 10 or 12 pops, real fast like crackling. Projectile appeared to me to be travelling West to East when I saw it. Light went out directly over my head, but the sound seemed to come from the East. |
| Persistent train | |
|---|---|
| Observation | Yes |
| Duration | 1s |
| Length | 20° |
| Remarks | The glowing train seemed like the tail of a firework or flair that had been fired West to East. Couldn't see smoke so much as what appeared to be sparks trailing behind the bright light blue/white projectile. |
| Terminal flash | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |
| Fragmentation | |
|---|---|
| Observation | No |
| Remarks | - |