I'm wondering if I should report it, or if it's unusual at all. This was spectacular! Below are some Photoshop images I made to try and replicate how it appeared to me.
I was at my Dad's around 12:35 am, July 31, 2021. He lives in a small town called Copperopolis if you want to look it up. Ya goofy name!
I was gazing at the sky and the meteor appeared out of approximately North by Northwest heading Southeast-ish. It faded out about West by Southwest of my position (on Lake Tulloch to be exact).
What I observed
The meteor was visible for about 4 seconds! I saw the entire visible flight.
The meteor was not a faint and quick blip like in meteor showers. This tail was very bright yellow and opaque. It was fat which made it appear that the meteor was very close, or very large. Very!
If I hold a pencil in front of my face at arms length that is about how fat the tail appeared to me.
About 1.5 seconds into it:
As it flew by with a slightly downward trajectory (it seemed that way) from my left to right, it blew/broke into many smaller pieces. The main rock was still going too.
It reminded me of the Space Shuttle that exploded on re-entry, with the pieces blowing off yet still maintaining the same trajectory as the main ship.
Each meteor fragment had its own bright tail as well and traveled slightly slower than the main rock.
After maybe a second the smaller pieces disappeared, but the main rock kept going. I could see what looked like hot "embers" coming off the rock as it continued. I briefly thought "hope it doesn't hit ground and start a fire!"
About one second after the small rocks disappeared, the main rock also went out. Before it did it looked like the fireball glow surrounding the rock wasn't as round anymore, like a chunk was gone. That's how clear or close it appeared, or SEEMED to appear.
When it was over, a few people that were hanging out down by the lake cheered. WOOOOOOOOOO!!! So did I!!!
I was not buzzed at all by the way.
What it seemed like
It seemed like it was super close because it was huge and it SEEMED like I could see a lot of detail. It reminded me of a fireball being launched like in Game Of Thrones. Not super fast like a normal shooting star I've seen. That was very apparent.
It looked so close, like I was watching a plane on fire crashing from a few miles away. I could see the yellow glow around the meteor as it flew. I could not actually see the rock, but the glow was trasparent at the edges and solid in the middle. It seemed like it was going slow for a meteor.
It looked like what it was - a big rock or object on fire flying through the sky, and it looked very very close.
The trail was so bright and clear, it was like someone drew across the dark sky with a yellow felt pen. It looked like someone close by had launched an illegal firework, except horizontally, especially when it broke apart.
I mean it looked like it was "right there"!
This was the most spectacular thing I have ever seen in the sky, and one of the coolest things I've ever experienced!
I'm thinking about animating this, but for now I made a few images in Photoshop (no photos).
Breaking up
Pieces, trailing behind
The rock on its own again, appearing a bit different shape. Not sure I got enough detail to show that.
Anyways, should I report this? I looked it up the next day and didn't see it mentioned. I saw one reported from Texas. I also hear there is a meteor shower visible, or soon will be.
I had a GoPro on while I was fishing that night (night fishing off the dock). If I would have fished another 5 minutes I'd have it all on video.
In any case it is something I will never forget!
I was at my Dad's around 12:35 am, July 31, 2021. He lives in a small town called Copperopolis if you want to look it up. Ya goofy name!
I was gazing at the sky and the meteor appeared out of approximately North by Northwest heading Southeast-ish. It faded out about West by Southwest of my position (on Lake Tulloch to be exact).
What I observed
The meteor was visible for about 4 seconds! I saw the entire visible flight.
The meteor was not a faint and quick blip like in meteor showers. This tail was very bright yellow and opaque. It was fat which made it appear that the meteor was very close, or very large. Very!
If I hold a pencil in front of my face at arms length that is about how fat the tail appeared to me.
About 1.5 seconds into it:
As it flew by with a slightly downward trajectory (it seemed that way) from my left to right, it blew/broke into many smaller pieces. The main rock was still going too.
It reminded me of the Space Shuttle that exploded on re-entry, with the pieces blowing off yet still maintaining the same trajectory as the main ship.
Each meteor fragment had its own bright tail as well and traveled slightly slower than the main rock.
After maybe a second the smaller pieces disappeared, but the main rock kept going. I could see what looked like hot "embers" coming off the rock as it continued. I briefly thought "hope it doesn't hit ground and start a fire!"
About one second after the small rocks disappeared, the main rock also went out. Before it did it looked like the fireball glow surrounding the rock wasn't as round anymore, like a chunk was gone. That's how clear or close it appeared, or SEEMED to appear.
When it was over, a few people that were hanging out down by the lake cheered. WOOOOOOOOOO!!! So did I!!!
I was not buzzed at all by the way.
What it seemed like
It seemed like it was super close because it was huge and it SEEMED like I could see a lot of detail. It reminded me of a fireball being launched like in Game Of Thrones. Not super fast like a normal shooting star I've seen. That was very apparent.
It looked so close, like I was watching a plane on fire crashing from a few miles away. I could see the yellow glow around the meteor as it flew. I could not actually see the rock, but the glow was trasparent at the edges and solid in the middle. It seemed like it was going slow for a meteor.
It looked like what it was - a big rock or object on fire flying through the sky, and it looked very very close.
The trail was so bright and clear, it was like someone drew across the dark sky with a yellow felt pen. It looked like someone close by had launched an illegal firework, except horizontally, especially when it broke apart.
I mean it looked like it was "right there"!
This was the most spectacular thing I have ever seen in the sky, and one of the coolest things I've ever experienced!
I'm thinking about animating this, but for now I made a few images in Photoshop (no photos).
Breaking up
Pieces, trailing behind
The rock on its own again, appearing a bit different shape. Not sure I got enough detail to show that.
Anyways, should I report this? I looked it up the next day and didn't see it mentioned. I saw one reported from Texas. I also hear there is a meteor shower visible, or soon will be.
I had a GoPro on while I was fishing that night (night fishing off the dock). If I would have fished another 5 minutes I'd have it all on video.
In any case it is something I will never forget!
Last edited:
