NUFORC Sighting 48612

Occurred: 2006-01-04 23:12 Local
Reported: 2006-01-05 12:19 Pacific
Duration: ~ 3 seconds
No of observers: 3

Location: Encinitas/Carlsbad, CA, USA

Shape: Fireball
Characteristics: Lights on object, Left a trail

Big green fireball fell into ocean near Carlsbad/Oceanside, CA at 23:12, 01/04/2006

At around 11 PM on 1/4/06 I was driving with my girlfriend in the passenger seat, going west towards the Ocean on Encinitas Blvd. We were heading to the beach to park there, when just before coming to the intersecion of Encinitas Blvd and Coast Hwy 101, my girlfriend and I witnessed a huge and close green fireball. The ball was about half size in relation to the moon and the tail/flame was about 20 moon lenghts or if the fireball was about a mile or less away (as it appeared to be so) then the tail length may have been about half a mile long. My girlfriend also said she saw a few other colors (besides green) like blue and orange. After we saw it, we went to park and hoped to see maybe more of them, or a meteor shower if it was a meteor. We saw another person standing, a woman who we talked to - she said she witnessed it also and heard a boom in the ocean where it had crashed - she thought it was "the military doing something strange". Shortly after the fireball, maybe 5-10 minutes later I saw a silent helicopter going along the coast, shining a light on the surface of the ocean.

We left and went a few blocks away, close to my home on Vulcan ave in Encinitas. We sat in the car and talked about it, then my girlfriend looked up at the sky and noticed a long, thin trail of dust or cloud going in the same direction and angle as the fireball we saw. We watched it all night and it eventually grew bigger and dissapated. I have never seen a fireball like that before...

Posted 2006-02-14