SIGHTING #31 – December 3, 2013. 13TH SIGHTING OF AN ORANGE “FIREBALL;” THIS ONE WAS SMALL AND CHANGED COLORS, THEN SPLIT IN TWO.
At 6:45 p.m. Eastern time I arrived at the beach overlooking the Gulf of Mexico where I regularly skywatch, just north of the rock jetty at Blind Pass inlet, on the south end of Captiva Island, SW Florida. The sky was about 30 percent overcast. There were several aircraft in the area, as is usually the case because of two nearby airports.
At 7:15 I noticed a relatively small, deep orange “fireball” traveling horizontally north to south, about 40 degrees above the horizon, and at an altitude of approximately 10,000 feet or less, substantially lower than most aircraft in the area. This object appeared to be of exactly the same size of the one I recently reported in “Sighting #30” and was traveling at least two, maybe 3 times faster than any aircraft I’ve seen. I first noticed the object when in was straight out in front of me, due west. It’s size was that of an average size star, whereas most all others I've seen are the size of a pea held at arm’s length, and as bright or brighter than Venus at it’s brightest.
I watched it through my binoculars for around 7 to 10 seconds, when it changed color to a solid white, and then split in two, with the light on the right being up at an angle of around 45 degrees from the one below. Without binoculars it looked like a single light. I watched It through my binocs for another 10 seconds or so as it continued moving south until it faded out of sight because it moved so far away from me. There was no other activity for the following 45 minutes.
At 6:45 p.m. Eastern time I arrived at the beach overlooking the Gulf of Mexico where I regularly skywatch, just north of the rock jetty at Blind Pass inlet, on the south end of Captiva Island, SW Florida. The sky was about 30 percent overcast. There were several aircraft in the area, as is usually the case because of two nearby airports.
At 7:15 I noticed a relatively small, deep orange “fireball” traveling horizontally north to south, about 40 degrees above the horizon, and at an altitude of approximately 10,000 feet or less, substantially lower than most aircraft in the area. This object appeared to be of exactly the same size of the one I recently reported in “Sighting #30” and was traveling at least two, maybe 3 times faster than any aircraft I’ve seen. I first noticed the object when in was straight out in front of me, due west. It’s size was that of an average size star, whereas most all others I've seen are the size of a pea held at arm’s length, and as bright or brighter than Venus at it’s brightest.
I watched it through my binoculars for around 7 to 10 seconds, when it changed color to a solid white, and then split in two, with the light on the right being up at an angle of around 45 degrees from the one below. Without binoculars it looked like a single light. I watched It through my binocs for another 10 seconds or so as it continued moving south until it faded out of sight because it moved so far away from me. There was no other activity for the following 45 minutes.
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
No
Off
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Captiva
USA
20 seconds
20 seconds
26.52
-82.18
fireball
FL
Occurred : 12/3/2013 19:15 (Entered as : 12/03/13 19:15) Reported: 12/4/2013 6:00:45 PM 18:00 Posted: 12/5/2013 Location: Captiva, FL Shape: Fireball Duration: 20 seconds Characteristics: The object changed color, There were aircraft in the vicinity or aircraft chasing the object
13TH SIGHTING OF AN ORANGE “FIREBALL. THIS ONE WAS SMALL AND CHANGED COLORS, THEN SPLIT IN TWO.