It was remarkable! I have seen shooting stars before and this was nothing like that. The long pale streak heading approximately east caught our eyes as we were driving south headed towards Carolina Beach. It was right in my field of vision while driving, just up in the sky coming in from right to left. I said “what is that gray streak” and suddenly the orange fireball appeared and had orange tails. I was briefly alarmed (wondering if it was some military thing) before we concluded it had to have been a meteor. It was amazing!
Location
Address
Wilmington, NC
Latitude
34° 6' 28.46'' N (34.11°)
Longitude
77° 53' 58.72'' W (-77.9°)
Elevation
13.15m
Time and Duration
Local Date & Time
2023-04-30 20:15 EDT
UT Date & Time
2023-05-01 00:15 UT
Duration
≈7.5s
Direction
Moving direction
From up right to down left
Descent Angle
265°
Moving
Facing azimuth
180°
First azimuth
195°
First elevation
50°
Last azimuth
170°
Last elevation
45°
Brightness and color
Stellar Magnitude
-11
Color
It started out as a pale streak and turned into an orange fireball, almost a half-circle with orange streaks behind it, then it was gone. My daughter and I have never seen anything like it!
Concurrent Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Delayed Sound
Observation
No
Remarks
-
Persistent train
Observation
Yes
Duration
3s
Length
-
Remarks
The pale streak was very long before the fireball occurred
