Summary : Green fireball. Seemed to be too low for a celestial event. Definitely not fireworks.
I'm an engineer. See myself as a careful, objective observer. Know planes, seen lots of meteors, fireworks, and the like. This brief phenomenon defied my logic. It was a light green "fireball" lasting about a second. It showed a short-persistance trail (1/4-1/2 sec). I'm 5-10 miles north of downtown San Diego. It was south of my observation point, maybe 30 deg. above horizon. It faded out at about 15-20 deg. It may have been visible higher in the sky, but my view was restricted. The object seemed to be falling, moving towards the southwest. It showed a straight, fast trajectory - like a meteor. Quite bright but not extremely so. It left me with the distinct impression that it was generated within the atmosphere, that it was not a celestial event. However, because of its motion and the characteristics of its luminance, it was definitely not fireworks. It seemed like it could have been only a few thousand feet away. Seeing a meteor is much different than was seeing this. Interesting too, it occurred right where I was looking, but not expecting anything. Would be interested to know if anybody else saw a similar thing it this time. Email me if you could use or provide further information. Please keep my last name, address, phone, and email address confidential. Thanks.
I'm an engineer. See myself as a careful, objective observer. Know planes, seen lots of meteors, fireworks, and the like. This brief phenomenon defied my logic. It was a light green "fireball" lasting about a second. It showed a short-persistance trail (1/4-1/2 sec). I'm 5-10 miles north of downtown San Diego. It was south of my observation point, maybe 30 deg. above horizon. It faded out at about 15-20 deg. It may have been visible higher in the sky, but my view was restricted. The object seemed to be falling, moving towards the southwest. It showed a straight, fast trajectory - like a meteor. Quite bright but not extremely so. It left me with the distinct impression that it was generated within the atmosphere, that it was not a celestial event. However, because of its motion and the characteristics of its luminance, it was definitely not fireworks. It seemed like it could have been only a few thousand feet away. Seeing a meteor is much different than was seeing this. Interesting too, it occurred right where I was looking, but not expecting anything. Would be interested to know if anybody else saw a similar thing it this time. Email me if you could use or provide further information. Please keep my last name, address, phone, and email address confidential. Thanks.
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North San Diego
USA
apx. one second
apx. one second
fireball
CA
Occurred : 12/16/1997 23:23 Reported: 12/17/1997 11:21 Posted: 3/7/1998 Location: North San Diego, CA Shape: Fireball Duration: apx. one second
Green fireball. Seemed to be too low for a celestial event. Definitely not fireworks.