Meteoric Coincidence?

One Viewer Wrote:
Last night at about 10:47 in the Silicon Valley (just south of San Fran.) I saw a bright orange flash in Cassiopeia that cut across the sky from East to West in less than a second. Was this NEAR? It wasn't like the published descriptions (location and duration) but the fact that it was travelling W. to E. at roughly the right time and direction makes me thing it was. Any ideas?

Thanks for your observation. Others in the San Francisco area reported a bright meteor, a little brighter than Capella, that passed through Cassiopeia at about that time, and a minute or so (just by coincidence) of the time of NEAR's sunglint. The sunglint was observed in the Bay area, but it was only about 3rd mag., about as bright as Delta Persei, so it was not nearly as obvious as I had hoped, and was especially not easy in the Bay area where patchy thin clouds interfered some.
David Dunham

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Also-- From near San Francisco:
I am responding to the article in San Francisco Chronicle Newspaper on January 21, 1998 regarding the Spacecraft Aiming a Wink at Earth. The article mentioned that the flash from NEAR probe would be at 10:44 pm 1/22/98 near the star Capella. Well, it was not until around l0:47 pm that we saw a flash in the consellation Cassiopeia and it was only for 10 seconds. We would like to know if this was NEAR. Also, could you explain why the flash was delayed? Thank you,
Helen K.

Unfortunately, you didn't see NEAR, which was in the right place (Perseus) at the right time, but fainter than we expected, about 3rd mag., a little fainter than the star Mirphak, for about 20 seconds. Shortly after the NEAR glint, a bright meteor streaked through Cassiopeia, and was reported by many others in the Bay area.
David Dunham