| Remarks | This fireball was the first I've seen in person. It lasted 2 or 3 seconds and was much more dramatic than a simple meteor. I was in the Bowron Lakes Provincial park, a very dark area (the milky way was clearly visible), watching for satellites and meteors on the shore of Isaac lake, at the group campsite on the southeastern end of the lake (campsite 29). The time is approximate, though it was full dark. Sunset that night was at 8:19pm and everyone else had "called it a night." I was just walking back to my tent, alone, when I took one last look due East towards the lake. I had just put my foam earplugs in, prior to getting in the tent. I saw the fireball starting from almost overhead, in the clear and continuing behind a large pine tree, popping and flashing, until a final burst that appeared to be about 10 degrees above the mountainous horizon. About half of the fireball was observed through the branches of that pine tree. The "pops" /explosions were so bright they shone right through the branches. There were several. I consider myself very lucky to have witnessed the event. And in such a dark sky! Even through the tree, it was so stunning I just stood there in shock. I didn't think to remove my earplugs. The time delay for the sound to reach me would certainly have given me enough time to remove them, if there was something to be heard. If only I'd stayed at the lake a while longer! The only comparable experience in my lifetime was witnessing the long-burning reentry of a Russian booster rocket as it streaked across the sky in 1988, above Ann Arbor Michigan. |
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