The question of satellite vs meteor is raised regularly. Unfortunately there is no single criterion that can differentiate between these possibilities based on a single visual observation. The answer is to be found somewhere in the following a) Is the path consistent with a predicted satellite re-entry? b) Is the duration longer or shorter than, say, 15 seconds? c) Is it brighter than mag -8? d) Does the object have many fragments? e) What is the direction of motion? A satellite re-entry will typically last many tens of seconds, whereas a meteoric fireball would rarely last that long. Satellite usually have a progressive breakup during re-entry and the fragments trail in the same line as each other. It is certainly possible for a meteoric fireball to enter the atmosphere at a shallow angle, but it would have to be massive to have a duration longer than 15 seconds, and the brightness would therefore usually be greater than, say, mag -8. Such objects often show a progressive break-up but could probably be separated by the brightness (e.g. Peekskill fireball, 40 sec durn, lots of fragments, mag brighter than -13). Satellite re-entries are rarely, if ever, brighter than mag -8. A single object of short (few seconds) duration will never be a satellite re-entry and it would be rare for a re-entry to follow an east to west path. Of course, determining the trajectory of the object will give a strong clue as to the nature. Satellite re-entries will typically have a VERY shallow trajectory (few degrees). A steep trajectory (3-D, not the 2-D apparent trajectory as seen from certain directions) will invariably be a fireball. Finally, if the velocity can be calculated, a satellite re-entry will be below 8km/sec, whereas a meteoric fireball above 11 km/sec, often well above. It should be noted that meteoric fireballs of mag -4 or brighter are some hundreds of times more frequent than satellite re-entries. Perhaps this realisation would make the NEO threat more real to people. An object has to have a very long duration to have a reasonable chance of being a re-entry. Hope this helps! Cheers, Rob McNaught (rmn@aaocbn.aao.gov.au)