Fireball with tail of sparks over Orange County skies
I was merging onto the 5 freeway north when I saw (very clearly as the light was still out) a light in the sky. It looked like something entering the atmosphere as it seemed to be traveling much slower than a shooting star you might see at night. It had a tail of what appeared to be sparks. I am sure lots of people on the freeway saw it but I can't find anything about it online. It appeared for only a couple of seconds before disappearing in a north east direction. Here is a google maps link of where I was and the direction I was facing when it happened: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=irvine+transportation+center&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=38.638819,78.837891&ie=UTF8&ll=33.670443,-117.754984&spn=0,359.972599&z=16&layer=c&cbll=33.670634,-117.755051&panoid=W8YhBR5WwkXRCOxFgaPvhw&cbp=12,346.4568740764644,,0,-10.251370399373544
I was merging onto the 5 freeway north when I saw (very clearly as the light was still out) a light in the sky. It looked like something entering the atmosphere as it seemed to be traveling much slower than a shooting star you might see at night. It had a tail of what appeared to be sparks. I am sure lots of people on the freeway saw it but I can't find anything about it online. It appeared for only a couple of seconds before disappearing in a north east direction. Here is a google maps link of where I was and the direction I was facing when it happened: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=irvine+transportation+center&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=38.638819,78.837891&ie=UTF8&ll=33.670443,-117.754984&spn=0,359.972599&z=16&layer=c&cbll=33.670634,-117.755051&panoid=W8YhBR5WwkXRCOxFgaPvhw&cbp=12,346.4568740764644,,0,-10.251370399373544
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Irvine
USA
2 seconds
2 seconds
33.68
-117.79
fireball
CA
Occurred : 1/18/2009 17:30 (Entered as : 01/18/09 17:30) Reported: 1/19/2009 4:38:01 PM 16:38 Posted: 3/19/2009 Location: Irvine, CA Shape: Fireball Duration: 2 seconds Characteristics: The object left a trail
Fireball with tail of sparks over Orange County skies