| Observer: | Tom Campbell |
| Location: | Iola, Kansas (Long: 95 30' W Lat: 37 55' N) |
| Time: | 7:45pm CST |
| Transparency: | Mostly clear |
| Seeing: | Fairly steady |
| Weather: | Cold! (9F), and windy (wind chill about -10F) |
FIREBALL!
Tonight, the weather was pretty cold, and I wouldn't have even bothered going outside, except for the fact that our barbershop quartet was scheduled to perform a few Christmas carols at a local low-income apartment complex. The tenants were really looking forward to the show, and as they say, the show must go on, so we went.
After the show was over, I was just about ready to get into my car and casually glanced over at the beautiful moon high in the East. Suddenly, a bright flash appeared near the moon and caught my eye. It was a bright meteor! While seeing meteors almost every night that I'm out, this was the first real fireball I'd witnessed in several years. The fireball continued slowly downward for a few more seconds, finally fizzling out when it reached about 10 degrees above the horizon.
I was too awestruck to pay attention to many details, but I did notice that the fireball was greenish-yellow in color. The leading edge of the meteor was nearly a flat line, giving the indication that it entered the atmosphere broadsides. Near the end of its flight, it almost disappeared completely, then suddenly flared to life again right before it disappeared for good.
I'm not very good at estimating magnitudes, but even with the full moon in the vicinity, it was bright and easily detected.