(meteorobs) Fw: Fireball Report August 3, 2005, approx 21:48 pm EDT, Washington, DC (Adams Morgan neighborhood)
Mark Davis
meteors at comcast.net
Sun Aug 7 06:44:33 EDT 2005
---------------------- Forwarded Message: ---------------------
From: NAMN Fireball Reports <namn at namnmeteors.org>
Subject: Fireball Report August 3, 2005, approx 21:48 pm EDT, Washington, DC
(Adams Morgan neighborhood)
Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2005 04:35:02 +0000
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Your Town/State/Country? Washington, DC
Date and Time? August 3, 2005, approx 21:48 pm EDT
What compass direction did the fireball appear from? E
What compass direction did the fireball DISAPPEAR from? E
How long, in seconds, were you able to see it in the sky? 3-5
How many degrees off the horizon was it when it APPEARED?
(As a reference, a closed fist held at arm's length is
approximately 10 degrees.)
~35
How many degrees off the horizon was it when it DISAPPEARED? ~2 degrees
higher
than appearance
How bright did it appear?
Like a star, Venus, the Moon, or the setting Sun?
~-5 to -8 (brighter than Venus, not as bright as the full moon
Did it have any color(s)? white streak, with orange and white explosion
Did it appear to fall apart as it went by? What did that look like?
No, but once it exploded there was a ball of orange and circular/spherical
cloud approx the diameter of a full moon
Did it leave a persistent streak in the sky after it was gone?
How long did that last?
There was some persistence to the streak at the end, near the point of the
fireball; it lasted less than 1 second
How fast did it move? Use a 1 to 5 scale, 1 being
VERY slow, and 5 being extremely quick.
1 to 1.5
Did you hear a sound?
If yes, what was the time delay from sighting to sound?
no
What is the closest Town/State to where you saw the fireball?
Washington, DC (Adams Morgan neighborhood)
Please put any additional remarks, sketches, drawings, etc. below:
Witnessed fireball at approximately 9:48 pm EDT (+/- 2 mins). Appeared in
the East or Southeast with a radiant in the WSW; appeared to be rising up
from the
WSW as if it were moving upward away from the surface of the Earth. trail
appeared to rise up toward lower (Eastern) arm of the cross in Cygnus from
the
WSW. Trail was foreshortened and appeared to curve around before exploding
a
few degrees (5 degrees?) below and south of the arm of the cross in Cygnus.
The trail was very foreshortened and it appeared to spiral slowly and
tightly away
from the observer. From the observation location it appeared to explode
approximately due east of the
observer, just below a passing airplane, approximately one mile east of the
observer and heading south at a flight level of perhaps 10,000 feet. (This
flight path was subsequently used by other aircraft over the next 20-30
minutes.) My initial thought was that this may have been a missile strike
attempt on the airplane. However, the radiant of the fireball, date, and
description appears also to be consistent with alpha Capricornids.
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