22 September 2011

Oregon / California / Washington Meteor Fireball 21SEP2011

Oregon / Washington / California Meteor Fireball  21SEP2011
v2 (c) LunarMeteorite*Hunter / Google Earth
May be used if citation and link are posted. (subject to updates).


Lebanon, Oregon 97355. At about 20:10, 9/21/2011, there was a blue in color ball shaped object 
 Lebanon, Oregon 97355. At about 20:10, 9/21/2011, there was a blue in color ball shaped object falling in a diagonal line in the south easterly direction from my house. This object seemed to have a little tail or streak behind it. It appeared to be falling from the south to the north north westerly direction. I could not gauge how far away it was for all I know it could have landed as close as Middle Ridge of farther than I5 corridor. This was a spectacular sight! I am still mesmerized as I live in the country with little light around so the star show I have seen since 1995 from living here, this was the best! I have seen many many meteor showers and odd things in the sky before; this is the topping on the cake for the shows and wonders I have witnessed in the sky! I would like to know what is could have been. It looked as if wherever the object landed it would be smoldering or light some fuels on fire. I am a wild land firefighter and that object appeared to be the color of a very hot flame. Like when ink on paper or cardboard burns, that real pretty blue flame was the color of the object falling. Any information on this mysterious falling object would be much appreciated! Thank you for your time. -Tabitha S.  Thank you Tabitha.

Stayton, Oregon Meteor 8:20 pm  21SEP2011
green meteor burns and breaks apart falling east to west
approximately 8:20 spotted green meteorite falling from east to west. we were traveling on Stayton-Scio hwy looking toward mary's peak in the coast range when we saw the meteorite burn from approximately 80 degree's to 30 degree's on the horizon where it broke apart into a couple chunks and disappeared at about 30 degree's on the horizon. We were traveling west along the railroad tracks just before the road makes a wide loop and crosses the rail tracks about 2 miles out of Stayton. -Doug H.  Thank you Doug!

Goldendale, WA ~8:00 pm
I live in a small town WA called Goldendale, around 8 weds night I saw a very bright, greenish-blue streak, at first I thought it was a shooting star, then it continued to travel downward from south to north across the western sky. It eventually went out of sight, but it probably was in my view for 2-3 seconds. I instantly ran in and told my wife about it. I am about 120 miles from Portland.
-L.T.  Thank you L.T.!


Vancouver, Washington  approx. 8:10 p.m
I live in Vancouver, Washington in the area of Mill Plain/Andresen. At approx. 8:10 p.m. or so I was sitting in my living room (facing south) and saw a huge, bright "light" drop diagonally between 2 trees. I wasn't sure what it was...never seen anything so big. It looked like this was over the Columbia River, but of course that was just my perception. I heard this morning that it was probably a meteorite. -Dorothy  Thank you Dorothy!

Lafayette, OR (Hwy 99 just past Hwy 18 going towards the town of Lafayette) just after 8 pm
We were traveling on Hwy 99 just past Hwy 18 going towards the town of Lafayette; it was after 8p.m. . I was driving and my husband noticed something falling from the sky. He pointed it out to me. We both saw it. It was quite large. It looked like something on fire, blue-ish flame falling from the sky. It was so close to us, we believed it fell in the field just to our left (between 99 and 18). I actually put my breaks on as we saw it approaching the ground; I was seriously expecting some kind of explosion after it hit, that’s how large it was. I know it sounds silly but we’ve never seen anything like it before and thought it was more like a rocket of some kind, possible home-made. After reading your blog I think we did see some kind of meteor. Just thought I’d share our story.
Thanks, Melanie V., Amity.  Thank you Melanie!

Rex Hill, OR after 8 pm
I was driving southerly on 99 W headed back to Newberg, OR from Sherwood, OR, just about at Rex Hill. My son who was "riding shotgun" and I witnessed an amazingly bright white ball shooting downward in an arc, southwesterly. I put on the brakes right in the middle of the highway it was so astonishing, and I expected there could be a ground explosion of some kind - it was September 21st after 8:00 p.m. and before 8:30 p.m. My son was equally astonished! We tried to explain it - was it a search light, was it over Providence Hospital in Newberg? There was no explosion, and no one else put on their car brakes. We checked on-line when we got home, and did not see any immediate reports or hear any later news coverage about this. Tonight I see that others in OR reported sighting what was probably the same "fire ball", they reported seeing it in blue or green, possibly closer to their locations? It was magnificent!! -Betty  Thank you Betty!

Neskowin, Oregon Between 8:15 and 8:30 PM  September 21, 2011
My family and I were driving about a mile north of Neskowin, Oregon when we saw a green object flying east to west. It was rather bright, even though it was seen through tinted windows. It was seen for a few seconds was viewed through a break in the clouds. It had little bits falling off of it, and I thought I saw a little red thing close behind catching up to it. -Linda M.  Thank you Linda!

Newberg, Oregon time was 8:10 p.m.
Last night I happened to look out a bay window in my kitchen that faces SW and caught sight of a huge blue/green fireball descending in a northerly direction. My first thought was a plane on fire as this is a route from Portland to San Francisco but realized it must be a meteor because of the tail. The size of it was so impressive. The time was 8:10 p.m. We live on a hill or I probably would not have been able to witness this incredible sight! -Ella  Thank you Ella!

Gold Hill, Oregon ~8:00 pm
Last night around 8:00 I saw a red glowing object in the sky East of I-5 in Gold Hill, Oregon as I returned from an evening walk up our road. It did not appear to come from the ground, but became visible in the sky and streaked up at an angle from south to north. It only appeared for a second and then disappeared.
My husband had just returned home from work, and I asked him if he had seen it while driving. He hadn't, and while we were discussing what it could be sitting in our backyard about 15 minutes later, we saw a second object in the sky. This one came down, was a greenish-blue color with a tail, and was visible for a few seconds. 5 minutes after this, my husband saw a brief streak of green light in the sky. Not sure what we saw and just wanted to let you know :) -Rebecca  
Thank you Rebecca!

Sweet Home, OR Safeway parking lot about 8:10pm on 9/21/11
I was so amazed by what I saw last night that I Googled it to see if I really saw what I saw... At about 8:10pm on 9/21/11 while getting ready to leave the Sweet Home Safeway parking lot I saw a orange ball of fire with a blue/green tail shooting towards the west (slightly north as well). It was VERY bright as I saw it under the Safeway lights. It was moving very quickly. I sat for quite awhile longer thinking I might see more, when no appeared I went home. I am glad to have found this website to report my sighting. I am still moved by the beauty of what I saw, the short instant of being reminded that we are just a dot in the universe. -Rachel  Thank you Rachel!

Live Oak, CA September 21, 2011 at approx. 8:10pm
Location name (town,city) where you were when saw the meteor? Live Oak, CA looking North
Start and Stop location in sky? Traveled to below the horizon line
Direction of movement? Was headed in a slightly East to West direction
Duration of Event (seconds)? 1-2 seconds
Brightness ( in comparison with Venus, Moon, Sun) color, sounds? Extremely bright, at least as bright as a full moon. Started as a bright white and appeared greenish in color as it got closer to the ground. Very bright and quite exciting to see. From my perspective looked to hit the earth, but unable to see an impact so I assume it just went below the horizon line. -Alexandra D.  
Thank you Alexandra!

Coosbay, Oregon Meteor sighting on Oregon coast.
8:10 pdt. Sept 21, 2011. Spinreel Campground 10 miles North of Coosbay Oregon.
Directly overhead falling in a NW, 330 degrees falling straight away from us. Were at the beach. Thinking it landed in Ocean.
Disappeared over the horizon. Lasting approx. One second. Brilliant bright light. Long blueish white tail. No sound. Thank you. -Jon Miller / Mike.  Thank you Jon and Mike.

Green Fireball in NW Oregon
Last night I saw a bright green fireball at about 8:20pm dropping at a steep angle to the SW. It was much slower than any meteors I have seen before. It appeared from the west hills of Portland to be headed directly towards Hillsboro . It was cloudy and so it appeared to be close. Best I have ever seen. -Jeff Van Raden  Thank you Jeff!  Please email me your location.

North Woodburn, OR
I saw a green fireball just after 8pm while driving south on 99W in North Woodburn, OR. Fireball was seen in southward direction falling to the Southwest. Very bright!-Mike Thank you Mike!

Portland, OR Seen at 8 :10 pm
West Sylvan MSd At 8:10 in S to SW sky 35 degree arc--obvious tail. Bright red and bright green
Very, very bright -Steve and BETH Jones Thank Steve and Beth!

Portland, OR Seen at 8 :10 pm
From Sylvan school in SW PDX on 9/21/11 at 8:10 I saw a large green and red streak in the southwest sky: approx 60 degrees, then broke up and disappeared. 
-Stephen Thank you Stephen!

Sublimity, OR (just north of Stayton)
September 21, 2011 at about 8:15 pm.
Standing out in my front yard talking on the phone and looking westerly when a slightly greenish, firework-looking ball fell from the sky
It was at least as bright as the moon.
The light began at about 75 degrees up from the horizon and fell at a slight angle toward the north. As it fell, the light appeared to break up into smaller pieces. Appeared to fall to the horizon, but hills in west Salem and local trees blocked my view I first thought it was the falling satellite coming a couple of days early or that it could be a firework display, but heard no sound.
Very large in comparison to typical shooting stars and lasted about a second and a half
-Greg F. Thank you Greg!

Highway 126, OR
Driving home around 8:30 PM PST West on Highway 126; I saw a fireball with an obvious fire trail and the colors were very defined with orange and pale yellow. I watched it quickly fall and the fire went dark. It seemed to have burnt out and I feel it may have been small enough to have landed on the South side of HWY 126 just before the new railroad track bridge in the field just West of Eugene. It was night and my perception may be way off. I was on the phone with my mother when I saw it, using a bluetooth of course. -Jennifer Buchanan  Thank you Jennifer!

Tigard, OR around 8pm on Sep 21st. 
We saw what it seems more like a cluster of white balls towards the west, probably above the Pacific Ocean , traveling S-N. It lasted for a few seconds.
-Virgil Thank you Virgil!

Portland, OR
Hi. I live in Portland OR and last night (9.21.2011) around 8:15pm (pacific) I saw a green flash like an over sized falling star. I was looking to the south from SE 27th and Hawthorne Avenue 97214. It traveled about 10 inches across the sky from East to West. It had to have either been very close or very bright as I was in the middle of the city lights. Anyway hope this is of some use. Thank you for your Blog! Very interesting and informative!
-Ciara K. Fox  Thank you Ciara!

Aumsville, Or. on 9/21/2011 at approximately 8:20 PM
My wife and i were on a walk in Aumsville, Or. on 9/21/2011 at approximately 8:20 PM when we observed a greenish glow falling from the sky to the southwest. As it was falling it seemed to break into at least 3 pieces, we had never seen anything like this and had no idea on how far away it was. At first I told my wife that it could be the satellite that was supposed to be returning to earth. But after further investigation, I see that this was not the case. We were also surprised that there was no mention of the sighting on the local news. -Rod M.  Thank you Rod!

Chiloquin, Oregon 
I also so the blue-green ball falling from the sky just after 8 pm. I live just outside of Chiloquin Oregon by Collier State Park which is east of the csscades from the Willamette Valley. It was very beautiful. -Cathy Thank you Cathy!

Vancouver, Washington ~8:20 pm
 My wife and I saw a large green ball of light travelling in a earthbound arc from east to west in the southern sky. The night sky was clear except the high, thin clouds that partially obscured and magnified it. The visible trajectory was about 1.5 seconds long. It appeared large in the sky, but after reading the other posts, I now realize that it was at least 150 to 200 miles to the south.
-Bill Dotson  Thank you Bill!

Aurora, Oregon 8:25 pm
I was sitting in my living room and had the door open with only the screen door shut ,Out of the corner of my eye looking towards the west I seen a bright flash of green and turned my head to look out the screen door to see a bright green fireball with what looked like vapor all around it and a very long tail..It was brilliant green...I have never seen anything so amazing in my life..I called my husband and kids into the living room and we all went outside but couldn't see anything else,Darn it.. Thank you, -Rhonda Mangum  Thank you Rhonda!

geo:lat=44.940289 geo:lon=-123.057175
I observed a meteor from this location:
geo:lat=44.940289 geo:lon=-123.057175
time was about ^20:10 Pacific Daylight savings on 21 Sept.
Direction was approximately 190 degrees true.
Path was 11:00 to 5:00 for approximately one second.
Color was flame orange.
Luminosity: similar to Venus--maybe brighter. -Douglas Rexin  Thank you Douglas!

Canby, Oregon
I was driving down Township Rd into Canby from the East a few minute past 8 pm. I saw a fireball and it was surprisingly big and close by. I've never seen anything like it. It was falling down towards the ground South of Township Rd. It had a tail and was greenish in color. -Amanda  
Thank you Amanda!

Pacific City, Oregon walking my dog
Last night at about 8:15 I was out walking my dog in Pacific City with a clear view of the ocean from a hillside about 200 ft above Bob Straub park. The night had become foggy, particularly over the ocean. My eye was caught by a greenish ball with a sparkling short tail at about 50 degrees over the ocean. It appeared to flicker out, but because of the fog, I wasn't sure if it just was obscured. It was quite bright...at least as bright as the moon would be on a not quite clear night. It seemed to be about 1/3 the size of a full moon at the apex. It looked much like a flare of rocket that might be sent up on the 4th of July. -Nanci  Thank you Nanci!

Tigard, OR ~8:15
We saw a a large blue green with a tail (meteor, space junk?),streak across the sky last night around 8:15. We were in Tigard, OR at a stop light. It was going from east to west. It burned out before it landed & I was keeping an eye out for a fire as we were headed west to Newberg. Looked like it would have hit south of Newberg.
Hope this helps. -Kathleen  Thank you Kathleen!

Eugene, Oregon
This event occurred last night (Sept 21 around 8:10 pm PST.in Eugene Oregon 97405)
My wife, daughter and I were sitting on the deck. My wife and I were facing West and daughter facing East. At about 8:10 pm there was a super bright flash of white light (ball shaped) with a green/blue corona around it. It’s start position was about 11 pm and ended at around 5 pm. I’ve seen shooting stars before but never anything this bright. It also seemed much closer than others I have seen in the past. The duration was at least 2-3 seconds as my daughter also caught a glimpse as she turned around in her chair. We did not notice any sound. Thanks! -Bob  
Thank you Bob!

McMinnville, OR around 9:30 maybe later
9-21-2011 I think I saw the same thing these people saw. We were driving home at around 9:30 maybe later, on hwy 18 between McMinnville and Sheridan, going west towards the coast. We just saw this bright ball with a long blue tail went right in front of us almost over us and I would swear it landed in the field right beside us. But my daughter and I went looking for it today and couldn't find anything. It was probably about the size of a basketball. It was going pretty fast. I would like to know if anyone has found this. DEON, Willamina  Thank you Deon, Willamina!


Medford, Oregon
My name is Bryan Navarro, I'm a reporter with KDRV-TV in Medford, Oregon. We had a call from a viewer describing a similar fireball in the sky at about the same time as the one seen near Lebanon. Just like you, we're trying to track down photos, videos, and witnesses. We'd love to get the word out what happened and would appreciate it if you could pass along any information or pictures and video you receive. We would likely credit your blog with providing the photo, too.
Thanks and please let us know! -Bryan Navarro, KDRV-TV ,NewsWatch 12  Thank you Bryan!

We need your sighting reports if you saw this or another event:
Date and Time of event? Location name (town,city) where you were when saw the meteor? Start and Stop location in sky? Direction of movement? Duration of Event (seconds)? Brightness ( in comparison with Venus, Moon, Sun) color, sounds? Photos? Videos? please email LunarMeteoriteHunter@gmail.com Your reports make it possible for all to check what they saw as well. Thank you!
2011 The Year of Meteors!