[stargazer107]

I need an opinion. So as I was looking up in the sky with my telescope tonight I noticed a very bright object in the sky. I was literally convinced it was a plane headed straight for me until I focused on it with my telescope. It then jumped out at me with a bright orange color and seemed as if it were spinning at high speeds as it moderately fell behind the mountain. I was trying to guess things like meteorite or satellite or something. Then as it fell behind the mountain the top of the mountain lit up where the object was falling... I may sound dumb asking this but can someone tell me what it was. I am convinced it was some sort of meteorite but I have never seen one acually fall so I can't be sure. Any ideas?

[JoeCanada76]

It sounds like a meteorite to me. My parents seen one and it was similar to what you described but a lot closer.

[ANETGames]

Yes. I'd almost bet that it was a meteorite, because the gasses in the earth's atmosphere often emit a strong orange glow when they're burning up an object. Usually, the glow would last until the object reached close to the ground, then it should have dimmed away.

I've heard numerous accounts of glowing objects, and they have all turned out to be meteorites.

[TechSupport]

Meteors burn up in the atmosphere because they are traveling fast. REALLY FAST. If you had time to focus on it with a telescope, then I doubt it was a meteor unless it was coming straight for you, in which case the angular velocity would be closer to zero and it would just look like it was getting bigger to you.

Did you see any sort of trail? Hear any sort of sound? Again, meteors are moving at speeds typically faster than 50km per second, and most in the range of 70km per second. That's more than 150,000 miles per hour. At most, the atmosphere is about 100km thick, so it takes no more than 2 seconds for a meteor to burn up into dust, usually.