(meteorobs) Fireball report from Edmonton

[Bruce McCurdy]

It figures ... I'm sitting here transcribing three nights worth of meteor tapes, waiting for it to get darker and the radiant higher before going out to observe for an hour or two, and my son walks in the door having just seen (from the bus stop) a brilliant fireball of what he describes as "magnitude -8 to -10, brighter than a bright Iridium", falling from just W. of due N. and straight down towards the N. horizon. It had three fragmentation events "as the core kept going but the outside fell off", started teal/turquoise, turned deeper blue, then lighter teal again at the end before a final "catastrophic fragmentation". Total duration was ~3 seconds, while the fireball dropped from 40 degrees altitude to about 15.  

Given its path and speed, surely this was one of the famous "flashbulb" Kappa Cygnids. Time of the event was about 22:55 MDT. Anybody else in these parts see this one? 

Kevin has watched a few Perseid showers with me in the past, as well as the great Leonid storm of 2001, so he isn't a complete neophyte when it comes to such matters. Still, when I think of the thousands of kilometres I have driven in pursuit of meteors over the past couple years with nothing brighter than a -5 to show for it, I'm thinking maybe I should ride the bus more often. 

Bruce
*****