Remarks | We saw the fireball while sailing offshore, just as we were changing watch at 23:00. First white light lit up the western sky much brighter than a full moon would have been (like a giant flashlight beaming down on us), then it turned a bright blue/green, and finally yellows into orange and reds before fizzling out. We were sailing north on a course of 344 degrees with SOG of 7.6 knots and at 23:10 after seeing the fireball logged our position at 29 53' 48" by 080 56' 37"; the moon had set at about 21:30 and the stars were mostly obscured by clouds; those that were visible were hazy. Just a few lights along the Florida coast were visible now and then to the west, so the bright entrance of the fireball over Florida lit up the ocean and the boat as if a light had been turned on. It seemed to appear directly to our left, which would have been W or WSW and traveled to the right, WNW or NW. When it began to burn orange and red, a dark core was visible. It traveled through the sky at the height of the mid-level clouds that were present, and they served as its back drop. |
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