| Remarques | White light with greenish centre that was bright enough that it caused me to turn due to it lighting up the sky more than my red torch light with which I was watching shrews at night with my back partially turned to the meteor. I only had a moment to half turn to see it and catch the last 30 degrees of track. My report: I saw a bright object in the sky at 2021/09/05 21:48 GMT. I was in the garden in a semi-rural area that was essentially fully dark, watching wildlife with a red torchlight. The object lit up the sky enough to make me turn to see what caused the brightening of the sky even over the red light's reflection. The object moved quickly, though not nearly as quickly as shooting stars (which are very dim and tiny points by comparison). However its track was similarly "straight", so unlikely to be a flare. And the area it passed over is an RSPB reserve, so I very much doubt that on many counts - there being virtually no noise (it was a calm, cloudless, windless, soundless night other than distant waders such as redshank sporadically calling from a mile or two away, which coincidentally jumped in volume and became continuous for a half minute immediately on the object passing beyond the horizon, as if all being unlocked from shock and began chorusing "Corr, what was that? What was that?" to each other. I only turned to see the object for the last 30 degrees of track, but it was a largish point of white light with a greenish central hue, having been nearly dead SouthWest of me and tracking roughly 45 degrees from the vertical in a downward and rightward direction from my point of view. Likely crossing the horizon only a point or two west of SW at the most. I have seen many flares and many aircraft (we are on an inbound flight path for a local regional airport) and many a shooting star. I have a telescope and have some experience as a casual observer. The brightness at first made me think flare. But almost immediately realised it was not. And I then thought of the Siberian large obect that was captured on a dashcam that made the news some years ago, and how it lit up the sky (obviously more than this) and wondered if it would make impact. I counted seconds of time passing since it passed the horizon but never heard anything of that sort. It was all in an instant, being instinctive action and thought association within the second it occurred. It happened very quickly, but nothing like the speed of shooting stars that - even when you are looking straight at the patch of sky they cover - sometimes feel as if they are so quick as to be your imagination, when you weren't focusing on or expecting them. This was not expected, but very much certain and definite. Totally soundless, straight and bright. And too fast for a drone or flare and not seemingly effected by gravity in its path as a flare would. It is heath and then marsh to the S of us, with open water further S (miles) beyond that, but simply fields to the SW of |
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