[meteorite-list] Time of 30 May 2012 meteor over northern California

From: Rob Matson <mojave_meteorites_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2012 14:51:21 -0700
Message-ID: <GOEDJOCBMMEHLEFDHGMMIEMOEOAA.mojave_meteorites_at_cox.net>

Hi All,

I have a time on that CA fall on 30 May 2012 that Dirk Ross
posted about a couple days ago. It was between 1:43 and
1:44 am PDT (8:43-8:44 GMT). I've searched for it in radar
data, but did not find anything that was unambiguously the
bolide. Perhaps Marc Fries will have better luck. Location
is northeastern California -- more north than Lake Tahoe,
and definitely on the California side of the CA/NV border.
Probably goes without saying that it was nowhere near as
big as the Sutter's Mill fall.

A post-mortem on the witness reports:

#1: Maranda Sacramento, CA 01:44 AM PST 2 sec North to South
Neon Green sun. Looked like a neon green ribbon zigzagging
then went dark.
(Maranda was the only one with the correct time -- assuming
you correct her timezone from PST to PDT. The north-to-south
direction is probably wrong.)

#2: Russ Merced, CA 95340 1:50:00 One Mississippi Star fell
downward Bright royal blue & yellow, with a long tail.
Thought it was a firework. None that I saw no other.
(No useful directional information.)

#3: Danny, Sacramento, CA approx 0130-0200 4 to 5 seconds
west i think i saw what looked like a green tail it was huge
sun no it was amazing.
(Direction he observed it was most definitely NOT in the
west; I suppose from his vantage point it could have
appeared to be moving toward the west from the north-
northeast.)

#4: Dustin McFall, Yuba City, CA. 1:50:00 1sec south to north
bright white/blue with orange sparks when exploded same as
lightning it exploded at the end and parts went everywhere.
(South to north is possible; report of fragmentation is
promising for meteorite generation.)

#5: Kami, Copperopolis, 1:40:00 around 4 sec from right to
left in a down angle red,white,blue no sound but it look to
be a brighter flash halfway thru. 3-4 times brighter than
the brightest star i can see no, i could not see any parts
falling i was standing on our back porch smoking a
cigarette and i saw a super bright light move from right
to left in a downward motion... halfway thru the movement
there was a flash that was brighter that the meteor itself.
(the first useful/believable report in terms of the apparent
motion of the meteor. From her vantage point, the meteor
would have been to her north or north-northeast.)

#6: Chris, Clovis, CA 1:55am (aprox.) 1 second NE Bright
electric blue, disappeared behind tree on the horizon. a
little brighter than the moon. No tail was observed. Just
a blue ball falling. descent was more vertical. No pictures.
(His NE direction would have you believe it fell over
northern Nevada, but it definitely fell over California.)

--Rob
Received on Sat 02 Jun 2012 05:51:21 PM PDT