If you see a fireball in the night sky, you can now report it to the IMO through our new fireball form! Translated into more than 25 languages, the form guides you through describing what you saw in a way that provides useful information to astronomers studying meteors. The information you provide can be combined with that of other eye-witnesses to give a good estimate of the trajectory of the fireball, and to help determine if a ground fall occurred.

Assuming no specialist astronomical knowledge or observing experience, the form easily takes you through the process of reporting a fireball sighting in detail. The information gathered from the submitted reports is collected into a public database which can be searched for particular events.

A large team of IMO volunteers has been hard at work translating the fireball form into more than 25 languages, and the IMO is now busy publicising it to local astronomical societies and observing groups around the world. Large fireball events often excite local media; if such an event happens in your region you can help by telling people about the form so that they can report what they saw.

If you would like to contribute a new translation in a language not already covered, or spot a mistake in the text of the form in your native language, please get in touch so that we can fix it, or follow the instructions to translators.

The IMO fireball report can be easily customized and branded for amateur societies, observatories, institutions or other astronomical organizations who receive fireball reports and enquiries from the public (see the Turkish Uzaybimer version for example, you may need to clear your browser cache). For more details, and to set up an account for your organization, please contact vperlerin@gmail.com.

If you would like to test the form without submitting a false event to the database, please use the test version of the form.

Happy fireball spotting!

12 comments

  • at 5 18 am on January 8 looking into dark sky I saw what looked like a meteor for a few seconds flames plain as day shooting from the back as it went north to the south .the most beautiful thing ever

    Reply to thomas danca
  • I’ve seen two this year. Just now discovered what I saw through Google. Bright green glowing ball shot through sky. 2nd time it looked like it landed right behind me into my house I thought it was a ghost or alien going through the ceiling into my home lol because it made no sound but I don’t know how because it was extremely quick. Mooreville, Mississippi.

    Reply to Nikki
  • I live in london/ England. And have just seen what looked like a fireball zooming across the sky. It just faded in the distance

    Reply to karen
  • Hi, i noticed a very orange,red shape in the sky above the house not far from where i live. Then a blue colour became aparant and after about 60 seconds the shape went all together. Never seen anything like that before on a night time in spring.

    Reply to Samatha Smith
  • I was walking outside just now, Wednesday, April 26,2017 Miami, FL, 10:40pm and I glanced up and saw a round shaped bright object in the sky, it was traveling soooo fast across the sky. I thought it was a shooting star or something. Very freaked out. I ran home and I was pretty worried.

    Reply to Ana
  • Last night, July 12, a lttle after 10 pm central, I saw what looked like the ISS. However, the ISS usually has approximately 2 to 6 minutes of visibility. The path I observed usually has 4 minutes of visibility, but this object completed that similar path in a manner of 15 seconds or so. It was moving too fast to be the ISS, and I’m thinking too slow for a meteor. Are there satelites that can travel from horizon to horizon in a matter of seconds?

    Reply to Roger

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