Red - orange (but mostly red) "meteor" or rocket re-entry. Friday 15 Dec 2017 22:19 hr UT.

[Orion]

I went out to the garden and looked west. I could see Cygnus.  I then saw a bright light suddenly appear from no where, then continue, heading towards the south (roughly following the chord if south and west are joined up by a line).  Details are in the IMO report.  Report #131419.  http://fireballs.imo.net/members/imo_view/report/131419

 

I have never seen a trail like this. I would say it was almost non-meteor-like, but instead, like space junk burning up. It looked like an orange-red slow moving trail, like a rocket burning up. There were some resemblances to the way the Shuttle sadly left a trail burning up. The trail was roughly between Cygnus and Cassiopiea, looking west. Magnitude was probably not -4, but of the order of Aldeberan/Mars at opposition magnitude.

 

I reported it on the IMO Report a Fireball web site, but it was given an invalid status, and an email saying it was most likely a Geminid.  What I don't understand is, the object was heading towards the south towards Orion.  Gemini is near Orion (to the left and up a bit).  But I have never heard of a meteor that heads towards it's own radiant.  Thus, I maintain it can't have been a Geminid, until I see hard evidence.  Therefore, please have a think, ask around, look at your meteor patrol images and see if you caught it, so there are some co-ordinates to support or refute.

 

I will see if UKMON has spotted it with their array of cameras.

 

Thanks

[Doc]

The right place at the right time Derek. Thanks for the link as well, there is a lot of work that's gone into the IMO. Hope someone else saw it as well.

[Tweedledee]

Very interesting, it would be nice to know exactly what it was. 

[Orion]

3 hours ago, Doc said:

The right place at the right time Derek. Thanks for the link as well, there is a lot of work that's gone into the IMO. Hope someone else saw it as well.

I think I will draw out it's track on a map and see the relation to the Gemini radiant. But visually, what came to my mind at the time was if it wasn't a rocket burn up, I'd have said the most unusual sporadic.  I need to get my Watec camera installed outside to cover part of the sky at least.