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(meteorobs) FIREBALL OVER MAUI?
WOW! I just step outside to check the sky conditions for observing
tonite, and at about 10:33pm HST, everything was lit up with a bright
electric blue flash! The sky was 90% overcast, and the light was
significantly brighter than the full moon would be behind the clouds,
because it actually cast shadows through the cloud layer. I would
estimate the flash lasted about 4 seconds, and it "flickered" in
brightness. If this was a meteor, it must have been between the moon and
sun in brightness, maybe mag -16? (!) I waited several minutes in case
of a sonic boom, but nothing was heard. I was facing SW at the moment,
and the light initially came from behind me. I turned around to catch
the last second of it, and it seemed it be concentrated in an area about
30° altitude, 80° azimuth, from my house in Haiku. Assuming it was a
meteor, around 60km elevation, that would put it about 100km ENE of
central Maui, or 100km due north of Hilo, HI at 21°N 155°W.
This was so incredibly bright it would have been instantly noticed by
anyone outside, or even from indoor windows on Maui or Big Island. I
suspect it would have been visible even from Honolulu, low in the east.
Lets see if any reports come in from the media. Anyone from Mauna Kea
(Malcolm?) or elsewhere in Hawaii (Jim Bedient?) see this ?
Mike Linnolt
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