·

Very bright fireball over Northeastern US, ground shaking reported

very-large-fireball-over-northeastern-us-ground-shaking-reported

A very bright fireball was observed over the Northeastern US at around 04:50 UTC on May 17, 2016. The event lasted between 3 and 8 seconds and was accompanied by fragmentation and sonic boom.

The American Meteor Society received 144 reports by 09:30 UTC.

The fireball was seen primarily from Maine, but witnesses from Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Ontario, Canada and Québec, Canada also reported the event.

People from Maine said their homes shook from the blast.

Based on witness reports and video footage, today's fireball was definitely a big one, said Mike Hankey, an operations manager at AMS. “It’s impossible to say (for certain) without better instruments or data or analysis, but it would be, I would estimate, at least the size of a car or minivan. Maybe bigger.”

YouTube video

YouTube video

YouTube video

"There was a 3 – 5 min delay from the time I saw it to the boom I heard and felt, very loud and shook the home. Unlike anything I have ever experienced before," a witness from Canton, ME reported to AMS.

Witness from Windsor, ME said: "I was driving and the sky suddenly started to brighten and I looked to my left sideview to see if a car was coming upon me when I saw the bright ball with a tail of white with a slight blue hue to it. It was gone so quickly. Amazing!" 

Julian K from Ontario, Canada said the giant ball of fire seemed extremely close going down below the treed horizon. "I waited a minute because I thought I’ll see fire erupting beyond the end of the lake but nothing…"

Witness location with observation directions. Credit: Google/AMS

Witness location heatmap. Credit: Google/AMS

Featured image: Fireball over Maine on May 17, 2016. Credit: Portland Maine Police Department

Share:

Commenting rules and guidelines

We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules:

  • Treat others with kindness and respect.
  • Stay on topic and contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way.
  • Do not use abusive or hateful language.
  • Do not spam or promote unrelated products or services.
  • Do not post any personal information or content that is illegal, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these rules. By commenting on our website, you agree to abide by these guidelines. Thank you for helping to create a positive and welcoming environment for all.

3 Comments

  1. I live alabama and I seen it fall from the sky iv been tryin to find what it was and if any one else seen it to I was stating think I was seeing thing and to prove to my boyfriend all day I seen a big ball of light fall the sky he was shocked when I found this and showed him wow I never seen any thing like that ever in my life the is so awsome I hope it didn’t hurt anyone. Was I the only one this far that seen it everyone else was a lot closer wow

  2. I live in Sumner Maine and my whole home shook after this low growl started and then the sky light up with a huge booming rumble … Heard it over the TV and stopped me dead in my tracks. Sounded like a bomb tearing the earth a new hole

Leave a Reply to Byron B Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *