2022-10-27 - Kingman, AZ - Fireball

VERY slow moving fireball with comet-like tail streaking SE and changing directions several times

Seen from the parking lot of Cerbat Elementary school, Jagerson Rd. in Kingman Arizona between 6:17 and 6:26 P.M

During Cerbat Elementary School's "Trunk or Treat" Halloween event, a comet-like object came very slowly from the NW (roughly the direction of Las Vegas,) changing directions and in one instance doing a loop, leaving a jet-like "vapor trail" in it's wake that lasted until the light faded and it was dark and no longer visible. I'd have thought it was something from the Air base in Vegas, but I can't think of anything that would move this slow, this low, cause the large comet-tail, yet move like it did and change directions!

It was late dusk, and it moved within a finger's width of the thin crescent moon from my vantage point (Tuesday was new moon.) To the naked eye it appeared to be a comet with a *large* flaring tail like you'd see on TV of comets in outer space. Holding up my finger did not obscure the end of the tail it was so big. It appeared to be significantly lower than the average altitude (jet stream) of a jet liner (by perhaps half) and moved VERY slowly across the sky into the SE. At first there was enough twilight that the tail appeared almost like frosted glass. Hundreds of people standing in line saw this.

It was a pretty good size, and I'm in my 50's and have sky watched my whole life, and I've NEVER seen anything like this.

It moved WAY too slowly to be a shooting star, and those don't do loops and change directions. The "vapor trail" appeared to almost zig-zag in it's trajectory, do the loop, then turn more southernly. From what I *personally* observed after my grandson ran to the car and pointed it out, it actually looked at first like it was coming closer into the near atmosphere, then slowly regained altitude. During the 5-6 minutes I watched it, the size of the main body did not change size as might be expected from a large asteroid burning in the atmosphere, and the tail was consistent in length for the duration.

About 30 seconds before when I estimated it would leave visual range to the SE, I lost sight of the tail, and I thought it's direction changed again and the tail was now directed at me. Within another 1-2 seconds I lost sight of anything at all except the vapor trail-like marking in the sky back to the NW illuminated by moonlight and the only analogy I can give is almost like low hanging autumn clouds, but only where it had traveled. There was no other jet activity in the sky I could see (and again, they would have been significantly higher) and the object appeared from as much as I could see to be round-ish, but any actual shape was obstructed by the air-disruption around it that caused the comet-like tail.

It was absolutely astounding looking, and when I caught sight of it I thought it would just streak across the sky, but it moved SO slowly I told my husband "I don't think that's a meteor, look how slow it's moving" and he agreed. Then we pondered if it was some sort of rocket, but again, it moved too slow for what I would expect even those to move. I'd have taken out my camera if I hadn't been absolutely amazed by it trying to figure it out. I had my phone right next to me, and in hindsight I thought I should have taken a picture, but with the 100's of people there, I'm sure someone got pics and maybe a video or two.

If it was a large close meteor, it had to have been of a big enough size that if it had made contact with the earth it would have taken out all of Kingman. But again, Meteors and Comets don't zig-zag and do loops..........