NUFORC Sighting 179393

Occurred: 2023-11-13 23:40 Local
Reported: 2023-11-14 21:52 Pacific
Duration: 2 seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: Cumberland, VA, USA
Location details: Farm (250 acres)

Shape: Star
Color: White
Estimated Size: Average size of meteorite
Viewed From: Land
Direction from Viewer: SE
Angle of Elevation: 20
Closest Distance: Miles away
Estimated Speed: 15,000 mph?
Characteristics: Left a trail

“Falling star” drops straight down then turns 90*, streaks east just above horizon, no change of speed

11/13/23 around 11:40pm, walking dog on farm hilltop, looking south east, a “meteorite” falls directly perpendicular, straight down from above, then makes 90* turn to the east, traveling horizontally ,just above the horizon. The trajectory was the shape of a backwards capital “ L”.

The speed stayed consistent, did not change before or after the 90 degree turn. Like a pinball ricochets off of a wall. This thing moved very very fast in both directions. I was observing a twinkling star in the SE, and the object fell from directly above this particular star, traveling straight down, right into my direct view, making its turn below the star, zipping off to the east above the tree line, horizontally. Very very fast. So fast that by the time it turned and moved east, my eyes were still looking towards the twinkling star, and it moved east, out of my peripheral vision. I then asked Google if meteorites made right angle turns. I was surprised to see that they don’t in fact make those type of drastic turns. About an hour ago, 24 hours after this event, I just saw a news report of a “meteor’ seen last night in Minnesota traveling horizontally across the sky. The object moving across the sky in Minnesota was at a very similar distance above the horizon as the object I observed. It also had a similar speed. The news report didn’t mention which direction that object was moving. And the Minnesota event happens 4 hours prior to the one I saw here in central Virginia. There was no mention of the object falling first then making a right angle turn. But it was strikingly similar to what I observed in the way that it moved horizontally and fast. After seeing that news out of MN, I thought it would be a good idea to submit these details now, in the event that there were other similar events last night, or similar details yet to be reported from MN or VA. Based on what I saw, I would not be surprised if others saw the object in MN first fall towards earth and making a turn before streaking horizontally.
The fact remains that 2 different strange and similar events occurred, 4 hours apart, and the one here in VA entered the atmosphere first traveling downward, then turning to the east. I didn’t hear a sonic boom. Im not sure if I would have been close enough to hear it had there been one. The news report from MN also mentioned that NASA doesn’t think it was a meteor in MN, which begs the question, what was it in MN? And what was it that I saw 4 hours later?

Posted 2023-12-09