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(meteorobs) Daylightfireball 17 October 1996, 11h35m56s

Hello meteorobservers!

You all know about the briljant daylight fireball on 17 October, 11h35m56s.
This time has been recorded by Gotfred M. Kristensen with his forward scatter
radio receiving equipement.
We now have received about 30 observations from the north-eastern part of
the Netherlands. 

These investigations have been carried out by meteorologist Jacob Kuiper 
from the Royal National Meteorological Insitute, Felix Bettonvil, Henry
Hendriks, 
Marc Neijts and Urijan Poerink of the Werkgroep Meteoren and Casper ter Kuile
from the Dutch Meteor Society. 

From 9 observations we are able to compute a projection of the endpoint of 
the fireball and its radiant in the sky.
The results:
The area above which the endpoint of the fireball is situated is between
the German towns of Cuxhaven at the Elbe estuary, Itzehoe, Kiel and Husum in 
the German province Schleswig-Holstein.
The radiant is located in the constellations of Bootes, Hercules, Draco and
Lyra.
Mind that this area is quite large because the entrance angle is quite
inaccurate.

Some other aspects of this remarkable daylightfireball:

Magnitude: -17 to -22
Azimuth of endpoint is rather accurate: direction north-east as seen from
the Netherlands: see above
Elevation of endpoint is quite low: 5-7 degrees for observers with no
obstructions
Entrance angle approximately 70+-20 degrees
Duration: approximately 1 second
Color: yellow/white at the center of the fireball; orange to red towards the
outside regions.
The head of the fireball did not appear to have a well defined edge
Color of the tail: white to yellow
Diameter of the head: approximately 1/3 to 2/3 moondiameter
No persisting train visible
No fragmentation visible
No sound noticed

Surprising to us at this moment is that we have not received any
observations from places in central and northern Germany. Surprising because
the weather situation at the moment of appearance of the fireball has been
favourite for good observations in that area too.
Only some high cirrus clouds have been reported at that moment.
In our view people in the Slesweg Holstein area must have been aroused by
the tremendous bright flash and a probably sonic boom of this huge fireball.
We are eager to hear something from our German colleagues. Have there been
reports in local newspapers, are there reports at local
police-stations/firebrigades etc etc.
We hope that this type of information can be found by some of you, maybe
with the help of some German well-known science-journalists. It could be a
very nice cooperative aspect of international meteor-research.

This information is also available at our DMS website:
http://www.pidot net/~terkuile/meteors/dms.htm

We look forward to learn from you!

Regards,

Casper and Jacob (Kuica & Kuija)
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