Bavaria, Southern Germany - A night shift worker in west Augsburg, observed an object which might have been a meteorite fall from the sky at 3:04 A.M. local time (CET) and burn itself out before it hit the ground. The appearance, angle and velocity of the phenomenon rule out the possibility that the flaming object could have been man-made leaving out fireworks as an explanation.

The actual size of the object and its distance was not determinable from the observation point of Katzenstadel. Nor was any sound audible from that distance.

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© Meteomedia / Mark VornhusenGais

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© Meteomedia / Mark VornhusenGais
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© Meteomedia / Mark VornhusenMunich
People who also saw this phenomenon should call the police unit at Augsburg Mitte,+49 821 323 2110.


Comment: Below is an actual eyewitness report called in shortly after 3:06 A.M.:
"Hello!!! I've just seen a bright, glowing fireball outside the window of my porch. Because my T.V. is right in front of the window, I could see it just as soon as it appeared. I was very startled."

"At first I thought that it was a New Year's rocket, but those usually fly upwards, and downwards, and they don't have a tail. It looked like it broke apart, like a sparkling candle. Unfortunately, there is another house 50 meters away from me, so I could only see the fireball for about two seconds. It must have hit the ground!"

"I know how little "falling stars" look, but this one was ENORMOUSLY larger, (maybe because it was close), I can just describe it as a light projectile from a signal gun. It must have been really fast, unbelievable."

"With Warm Regards from Upper Bavaria (Bayern),
"M.S."

UPDATE: Information can also be directed to Dieter Heinleinm, dieter-heinlein@-online.at from the DLR, Feuerkugelnetz, (German Air and Space Agency: Department "Fireballs").

CC your report to Thomas Grau of European Research Center for Fireball and Meteorites.

Unfortunately, the cameras of those agencies that would most likely have recorded the event were offline at the time of the incident.


Comment: According to The Polish Fireball Network, the fireball was above -10 magnitude.