NUFORC Sighting 25576

Occurred: 2002-10-14 19:02 Local
Reported: 2002-10-14 19:28 Pacific
Duration: 1 minute
No of observers: 5

Location: Porterville, CA, USA

Shape: Fireball
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object, Left a trail, Aircraft nearby

Fireball above Porterville, California.

As I was driving away from a restaraunt, I saw a bright white fireball rising in the Southwest sky. It left a trail of debris or gas, and my first thought was that it was a missile. It seemed to gain altitude, then disappear, leaving behind a contrail of multicolored gases (orange, blue, white). As I approached my home, a man and his two children were standing at the corner, and I stopped. He said he thought it was a missile test. I've never seen anything like it in my life. The "trail" of gases persisted for approximately 10 minutes after the fireball disappeared. I noted what I believe to be an aircraft in the vicinity of the fireball.

((Vandenberg rocket launch. PD))

Posted 2002-10-15

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