ATLANTA (AP) — Over 200 individuals in several southern U.S. states have reported witnessing a bright meteor streaking across the sky on Thursday. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) now believes it was a bolide, or a remarkably bright meteor. Most sightings of the fireball occurred around 12:30 p.m. in Georgia and South Carolina, according to a report from the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City, Georgia.
Key points about the meteor:
– Pieces of the meteor are believed to have landed in Georgia.
– NASA estimated the meteor to be the size of a shopping cart as it traveled through the sky.
– Scientists were able to track its path by analyzing eyewitness reports, camera images, satellite data, and weather radar observations.
– The meteor was first seen over Oxford, Georgia, moving southwest across the sky.
– It broke apart over West Forest, Georgia, unleashing an energy equivalent to about 20 tons of TNT.
– Multiple weather radars detected the meteor falling to the ground, with many meteorites believed to be in the Blacksville, Georgia area.
Witness accounts express amazement:
– Over 215 reports have been received by the American Meteor Society.
– Witnesses described the fireball as bright and unique, with some noting a bright tail and smoke trail.
– A man in Milledgeville, Georgia, believed the meteorite hit the ground.
Notable incidents:
– A rock pierced the roof of a residence in Henry County, Georgia, around the time of the sonic boom caused by the fireball.
– Dashboard and doorbell cameras across the southeastern U.S. captured the falling fireball.
– Daylight sightings of bright meteors are uncommon, with many witnesses marveling at the brightness of the event.
Bright fireballs are generated by friction as objects enter the atmosphere and slow down significantly. Most objects disintegrate into tiny fragments before reaching the ground, according to NASA.
