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(meteorobs) very bright fireball 2001 Dec 22
I wonder if anyone else witnessed this event, or knows what it was. It
looked like videos I've seen of space junk re-entering.
Location: Saddle Road, near Hilo, Hawaii (big island). I was returning
from a tour of Mauna Kea and a star party at the Onizuka Visitor's Center,
and had gone approx. 10 miles from the turnoff.
Time: Approx. 7:30pm HST (9:30pm PST).
Description: I noted to the driver of our vehicle a meteor to the
northwest, about 60 degrees elevation, yellow-orangish and a -1 magnitude.
It quickly became brighter and brighter, changing colors to a blue-green
and exploding in a giant flash of light that seemed to illuminate the
whole valley. We didn't see any visible streamers, however we soon were
driving through pockets of fog and so didn't get a good look.
I saw a couple of great fireballs during the leonids in november, but
nothing close to the scale of this event!
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