If you saw a very bright, fast streak that crossed the sky in a few seconds, report it through the American Meteor Society (AMS) Fireball Report Form. The form is free, accepts reports from anywhere in the world, and can be completed even when you have no photograph or video. Record the time, date, time zone, location, brightness, color, duration and direction as soon as you can, then submit the account while those details are still fresh.
What the AMS fireball form is for
The AMS form is an eyewitness reporting route for bright, fast meteors, including events that look like an exceptionally large shooting star. Your account can be compared with reports from other observers, added to the AMS meteor database and shared with organizations that study fireballs. It is not a general reporting channel for every unexplained light or object in the sky.
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AMS says it accepts fireball reports worldwide. You do not need specialist astronomy knowledge, an observatory, a camera or any purchased equipment. A careful description of what you saw is useful even when you are uncertain about the object’s identity.
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Use the regular interactive form first. If the reporting application has a technical problem, AMS provides a simplified form through its reporting flow. The organization’s contact guidance directs fireball witnesses to file a sighting report rather than sending the details by email, because the form captures the direction, timing and brightness information needed by the people who process these events.
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First decide whether the sighting resembles a fireball
AMS defines a fireball as a very bright meteor, generally brighter than magnitude -4. That is approximately the brightness of Venus when Venus is visible in the morning or evening sky. A bolide is a type of fireball that ends with a conspicuous terminal flash and may visibly fragment.
Duration and motion are the quickest screening clues, but they are not a substitute for an honest report when you are unsure. A typical fireball lasts only a few seconds. A contrail can remain visible for minutes or hours after the aircraft or launch vehicle has passed. Clouds above the apparent event also argue against a meteor: meteors burn much higher than ordinary clouds, so a light that is clearly below or within a cloud layer is unlikely to be a meteor.
| What you saw | Typical clues | AMS fireball-form guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Fireball or very bright meteor | Bright, fast streak; usually only a few seconds; may flare, fragment or leave a brief train | Appropriate subject for the fireball report form |
| Bolide | Fireball with a bright terminal flash and sometimes visible breakup | Report through the same form and describe the flash or fragmentation |
| Aircraft | Steady or slowly moving light, often with repeated blinking and a longer apparent duration | AMS says aircraft reports are not accepted in this program |
| Satellite | Steady point of light moving slowly across the sky for much longer than a few seconds | AMS says satellite reports are not accepted |
| Rocket launch or launch contrail | Comet-like appearance, slow development, persistent trail, or activity lasting several minutes | AMS asks witnesses not to submit these as fireballs |
| Sky lantern | Slow, warm-colored light drifting with the wind | AMS says sky-lantern reports are not accepted |
| Recurring or paired lights | Repeated appearance, slow blinking, or two lights traveling together | AMS asks witnesses not to submit recurring events, slow blinking lights or pairs of lights |
The form introduction also asks people not to report sightings that lasted longer than 30 seconds. If your observation does not fit these boundaries, do not force it into the fireball category. You can still preserve your notes and use an appropriate local aviation, weather or public-safety channel when the object raises a separate concern.
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Memory of a sudden sky event changes quickly. Before filling in the report, make a short note in your phone or on paper. Keep your original uncertainty: “northwest, perhaps 30 degrees high” is more useful than an invented precise bearing.
Core details to record
- Date: use the local calendar date on which you saw the event.
- Local time: include hours, minutes and seconds if known. If your watch or phone time may be wrong, say so.
- Time zone: identify the local zone or whether daylight-saving time was in effect.
- Location: record the town or area and, when available, the observation coordinates or a nearby landmark.
- Duration: estimate how many seconds the light was visible, including whether a final flash lasted longer than the streak.
- Brightness: compare it with familiar objects such as Venus, the full Moon, streetlights or daylight glare. Do not claim a formal magnitude measurement unless you actually made one.
- Color: note the dominant color and any change during the flight, such as white turning green, orange or red.
- Apparent length: describe how far it traveled across your field of view.
- Sound: if you heard a sound, note when it occurred relative to the flash. A delayed sound is different from a simultaneous visual impression.
- Effects: record flares, fragmentation, a terminal flash, a lingering train or shadows cast by the light.
Describe where it went
AMS asks witnesses to recall where the fireball began and ended against star constellations, if they remember. You do not need to identify every constellation. A statement such as “it started above the eastern horizon near Orion and ended toward the south” can help if it is genuinely what you saw.
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If you cannot use stars, give the compass direction and approximate angular elevation above the horizon. “Began northwest at about 20 degrees above the horizon and ended west at about 45 degrees” is a useful format. One fist held at arm’s length spans roughly 10 degrees, so you can estimate elevation with hand spans; label the result as an estimate. Distinguish the direction you were facing from the direction the object traveled.
Submit a report through the AMS form
- Open the AMS Fireball Report Form. Go to https://www.amsmeteors.org/members/fireball/report-a-fireball. The page introduces the process in everyday terms: a bright, fast event “like a huge shooting star.”
- Read the form’s scope notice. Confirm that your observation was a brief, bright event rather than a recurring light, aircraft, satellite, rocket launch, sky lantern or another excluded lookalike. If you are unsure, describe what you actually observed instead of selecting a more dramatic category.
- Enter the date, time, time zone and location. Use local values and preserve the distinction between an exact time and an estimate. Do not assume any field is mandatory unless the live form marks it as required.
- Describe brightness, color, duration and apparent path. Include the start and end points against constellations when remembered. Otherwise provide compass direction and elevation above the horizon. Add fragmentation, a terminal flash, a train or sound only when observed.
- Answer the photo or video question. The form asks whether you have media. Photos and video are optional evidence, not a condition of filing. If you have a recording, say what device made it and whether it shows the whole event or only part of it.
- Review the account for accidental guesses. Check that the date is correct, the time zone is included and directions have not been reversed. Replace false precision with words such as “about,” “approximately” or “uncertain” where appropriate.
- Submit the report. Save any confirmation shown by the site. If the page fails, record the error and try the simplified form offered for technical problems rather than repeatedly submitting incomplete copies.
How to describe brightness and motion accurately
Brightness
The AMS threshold of magnitude -4 is a classification definition, not a claim that every observer can measure magnitude in the field. Use comparisons instead. Say whether the light was brighter than Venus, comparable to the Moon, bright enough to illuminate nearby surroundings or merely brighter than ordinary stars. A brief flare can be more informative than a broad statement that the object was “very bright.”
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Color can vary with the meteor’s composition, speed and the observer’s visual conditions, but the form primarily needs your observation. Record the color you perceived and whether it changed. If the object split into pieces, describe how many fragments you noticed and whether they separated before the final flash. Do not infer a chemical composition from color.
Duration and apparent length
Estimate the visible duration in seconds. Separate the main streak from any afterglow or persistent train. Apparent length is the angular distance across the sky, not a guessed physical size. Compare it with the width of your hand, fist or finger at arm’s length, and state that it is an estimate.
Photos and video: useful, but never required
Submit the report even if you have no media. The form’s media question is designed to identify optional evidence; AMS does not require a photograph or video before accepting an eyewitness account.
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If you already have a recording, keep the original file. Note the device, whether it was a phone, dash camera or security camera, and whether the camera clock was accurate. Avoid editing over the original timestamp. A wide view that shows the horizon, nearby buildings or trees can help establish direction and elevation, while a cropped bright streak may preserve less context.
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Do not delay a report while trying to obtain equipment or recreate the event. A camera is not needed to file, and there is no reason to purchase one for a past sighting. Never put yourself in danger by stopping in traffic, entering restricted land or looking away from a hazardous situation to record the sky.
What happens after you submit
AMS says submitted reports are shared with interested organizations and retained for statistical study. It names the Meteoritical Society and the International Meteor Organization’s Fireball Data Center (FIDAC) among the groups that may receive data. When an event appears promising, AMS may bring it to planetary scientists working near the relevant geographic area.
AMS does not pursue meteorite recovery itself. A report can help researchers recognize a potentially significant event, but submitting one does not guarantee a response, a confirmed identification or a meteorite search.
Check related activity in the AMS log and event viewer
The AMS fireball log lets readers review reports received by date. In an October 2026 site update, AMS described its Fireball Event Viewer as a map-based display of eyewitness reports, reported travel directions, estimated ground paths and event summaries. Photos and videos attached to events can be opened from the event records when available.
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These tools are useful for finding reports that may describe the same event, but a nearby entry is not proof that two observations are identical. Compare the date, local time, direction, duration and path before drawing that conclusion.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Current AMS site status and what may change
AMS reported on October 5, 2026, that a cyberattack against its previous hosting environment in early September had temporarily disrupted services. The fireball reporting form was back online within a couple of days, and AMS said no fireball data was lost after the initial disruption. The same update said the form worked as before and introduced the event viewer as a new feature.
Because website availability and interface labels can change, check the live form when you publish or submit. Mike Hankey, author of the October 5 update, wrote: “The report form works exactly as it always has.”
That update also mentioned a future announcement about obtaining AllSky7 camera hardware and participating in the AMS camera network. It did not establish current availability, price or a purchase program. None of that is needed for an eyewitness report.
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The interactive form will not load
Refresh once, try a current browser and check whether a content blocker or restrictive network is preventing the application from running. If the problem continues, use the simplified form provided in the AMS reporting flow. Keep a copy of your notes so you can retry without reconstructing the event from memory.
You do not know the exact time
Submit your best estimate and say that it is approximate. Use messages, camera metadata, a vehicle clock or another contemporaneous record to narrow the time, but do not invent seconds you cannot support.
You cannot identify the direction
Report the landmarks you remember: where you were facing, which horizon it crossed, and whether it moved left or right in your view. Constellations, a compass app opened after the event, street layout and building orientation can help you reconstruct an estimate. Mark reconstructed directions as estimates.
You saw a long-lasting or recurring light
Do not stretch the description to fit the fireball form. AMS specifically excludes recurring events, slow blinking or paired lights, rocket launches lasting several minutes and observations longer than 30 seconds. Aircraft, satellites and sky lanterns are also outside this fireball program.
You are worried that your account is not scientific enough
Plain eyewitness language is acceptable. The value comes from precise timing, location and independent observations, not from using technical terms. Report what you saw, what you estimated and what you did not see.
A practical report checklist
- Open the AMS Fireball Report Form as soon as practical.
- Have the local date, time and time zone ready.
- Identify your location and the direction of travel.
- Estimate duration and apparent length.
- Describe brightness, color, flares, fragmentation and any terminal flash.
- Use constellation landmarks when remembered; otherwise give compass direction and elevation.
- Attach or identify existing photos or video, but do not wait for media.
- Use the simplified form if the interactive application has technical problems.
- Keep a copy of your submitted description and confirmation.
The most useful response to a suspected fireball is therefore straightforward: preserve the details, submit them through AMS’s online form, and let the organization combine your account with observations from other witnesses.
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