EDITOR’S NOTE — This update adds new comments about the object. We would welcome any comments from observers who saw the fireball — and any photos. Please email comments/photos to jbrewer@peninsuladailynews.com. Many thanks.
PORT TOWNSEND — A mysterious fireball — apparently a meteor or re-entering space debris — lit up North Olympic Peninsula skies Saturday evening and was also seen from British Columbia to Northern California.
About 115 persons — including residents in Port Townsend, Port Angeles, Sequim, Port Ludlow and along Hood Canal — reported on the website of the Boston-based American Meteor Society that they saw the bright object streaking through the atmosphere at about 8:20 p.m.
The Huffington Post B.C., an online newspaper, published two photos it said were taken of the fireball by Canadian residents.
Robert Mclain Jr. of Port Townsend described it in an email to the Peninsula Daily News as “a huge shooting star . . . as it fell, two or more small fragments broke off and burned up.
“The large core stayed glowing deep blue and the most awesome shade of purple like I’ve never seen continued coming down and then a deep green and blue . . .
“It just kept falling and falling until it got down so far I couldn’t see it anymore over the rooftops.”
The Huffington Post B.C. said Jen Pickard snapped a photo as the “huge ball of fire flew by” while she and a friend were in a boat off Qualicum Beach, B.C., about 30 miles north of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.
“It was yellowish blue and flew in an arc,” said Pickard in an email to the Post.
Sightings were reported across British Columbia, western and central Washington, Oregon and south into Northern California.
Laura MacMurchie said on the PDN’s Facebook page:
“My daughter and I both saw it at approximately 8:20 p.m. We were up above Reservoir Road in Sequim, facing west, and it passed overhead to the west just as we were looking up through the trees.
“Incredible to see it, and we then both turned to each other and shrieked in amazement.”
Jena Marie Chamberlin of Port Angeles said in an email: “I saw this in the sky last night going up the hill into town near Taco Bell. All of a sudden something vertically was falling in the sky, but within seconds it was gone.”
“Almost unbelievable to witness,” Joanne F. of New Westminster, B.C., reported on the American Meteor Society’s website. “It took up a portion of sky about half the size of the moon.”
Dylan M. in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue said he “saw an extremely luminous light point fall nearly vertically, giving the appearance of a falling flare or firework.
“In the last second it was visible close to the horizon; it left a very brief trail of smoke, then slight fragmentation before dimming.”
“It was breathtaking,” reported Hilde S. of Nanaimo on the meteor society’s website.
Not related to aurora
The society said Saturday night’s apparent meteor or space debris (spent rocket stage or an old satellite) burning up harmlessly in Earth’s atmosphere was unrelated to the solar flare that caused colorful aurora borealis in Alaska and other northern areas of the globe Thursday and Friday nights.
Despite much anticipation, the green-and-red aurora — also known as the Northern Lights — did not make an appearance on the Peninsula’s horizon and was not reported anywhere south of Vancouver, B.C.
More comments
From the PDN’s Facebook page about the fireball:
Alan Brackney of Sequim: “I saw this out my west-facing window as I worked in my garage last night! It appeared very bright, white and brief moving east to west.”
Amanda Drennen: “I saw it, too, from the Carlsborg area! It seemed blueish/white in color and looked as if it was flashing. It was pretty low and wasn’t going real fast so you could just watch it move across the sky! So cool!!!”
Gail Gates, owner and manager at Whispering Winds Ranch & B&B in Port Angeles: “I saw it and first thought was a great meteorite, second thought was, it’s a firework, silly! It was soooo pretty!”
Jen Brandt of Port Angeles: “I saw it, too . . . I have NEVER seen anything so big and colorful in the sky. The ‘body’ of it was pink, purple and blue . . . and the ‘tail’ was a magnificent glowing green . . . AAA-MAZING!”
Alisa Costello of Port Townsend: “Saw this, it was awesome. It reminded me of the shooting star from the more-you-know commercials. It was so sparkly.”
