🚀 go-pugleaf

I had to drive east to get out of the SF Bay area fog.  I parked in 
Danville, in a residential area behind the rather high Las Trampas hills, 
which served to block the fog.

Excellent view and rather dark.  It seemed to be a minute or two overdue, 
but then an orange fireball appeared near the horizon, moving nearly 
directly toward me rather than arcing up, it seemed.  It left a white 
contrail, with no particular color that I could discern.  It seemed to be 
reflected light from the full moon, but at 50 miles up there is nothing 
to reflect moonlight, so it must have been glowing plasma. 

The shuttle seemed to move in quite a straight line, and I must say that 
it appeared to be much lower than 50 miles up.  Because of this low 
apparent altitude, the apparent speed was what you might see at a 
medium-altitude pass at an air show.  Except for the orange color, the 
sight was similar to the films of low-altitude meteors that PBS's NOVA 
showed this week (the Jupiter comet re-reun).

I didn't time the pass, but I would guesstimate it at 2 minutes. The 
contrail stretched almost all the way across the sky, disappearing a 
couple minutes after the shuttle was gone.  I waited for the sonic boom 
and it was right on time, about 6 minutes later, but only slightly louder 
than the occasional passing car on the freeway a mile or so away.  

A few folks phoned in UFO reports to the local news radio station, but a 
caller quickly identified the object as the shuttle.  I would compare the 
sight to an orange flare moving horizontally and leaving a smoke trail.  
Except that this particular flare has people on board!

Well worth getting up and driving a few miles to see.  Too bad the media 
dropped the ball on this one by failing to announce it in advance.

keith@tcs.com
Keith Jarett