(meteorobs) Two Fireballs on March 23rd from South-Central USA?

[Robert Lunsford]

The American Meteor Society has received two reports mentioning the fact that there were two fireball reports that evening, perhaps 
15-30 minutes apart, visible from the same general region of the USA.

Debi from Granbury, Texas mentions:

"Again, there were TWO fireballs - approximately 10... -15 minutes apart - that were spectacular to observe! The first was bigger, 
more blue-white (I initially thought it was a helicopter i.e. CareFlight strobe/light) & began its descent slightly more to the 
West. (I lost sight it only because of my neighbor's high-pitched roofline.) The 2nd was slightly smaller, a little lower in the 
sky - a bit more to the NW, (seemed) slightly faster, & had a "coppery" greenish hue. Both had visible tails during flight."

Chris (no location) mentions:

"Around 9:15 pm my wife came to tell me she had just seen the meteor previously mentioned. About 15 minutes later, we were out for a 
smoke and together we witnessed a second meteor fall in a perpendicular motion from the first, in the same quadrant of the northern 
sky. From her account it was only slightly smaller than the first and was just as spectacular in tail and in color."

Fortunately we have a report from frequent contributor James Beauchamp who reports his Sentinel Camera captured a fireball at 
21:21:02 CDT (02:21:02 UT on March 24th). I believe this to be the second fireball reported by the witnesses listed above. We can 
also count on the timing of James's event as reliable when compared to inexperienced witnesses. Since James operates an all-sky 
camera, one would think that his camera would also have also picked up on the earlier event. Perhaps the first event was too faint 
to be recorded? This goes against the statements of both witnesses who stated the first event was brighter.

Looking at the list of reports at: 
http://www.amsmeteors.org/fireball2/public.php?start_date=2011-03-01&end_date=2011-03-31&state=&event_id=331&submit=Find+Reports 
reveals no clear break between the two possible events. This is to be expected with the normal large spread in timing with numerous 
reports of the same event. If I had to separate this list I would draw a line between 21:10 and 21:15 CDT.

Looking at the first group with timings of 21:10 and earlier, I would estimate that the first fireball would have occurred near 
20:53 CDT. This takes into fact that many witnesses estimate their times to the nearest five or fifteen minute interval.

We will update this possibility should new information come to light...

Your comments are welcome!

Robert Lunsford
American Meteor Society