I'm no expert at magnitudes but it seemed about as bright as Jupiter. And its tail was very vivid red orange. According to the North America Meteor Network, a fireball gets so bright when it slows down after not burning up in the earth's atmosphere and its diminished velocity creates a more pronounced tail before it finally looses all momentum and drops to the ground. I dont think it was space junk. However this one didnt cast any shadows like a full moon!

Bill Arnett wrote:

Subject: Re: [M]: Fireball observed. Anyone Else?

Can you make a rough estimate of the magnitude of this meteor?

(I saw one in about Sept, 1996 that lit up the ground like the full
moon!)

Best regards,
Gene Dow
Senior Digital Art Developer/Design Specialist
Hensley Segal Rentschler
http://www.hsr.com

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