Fireball lights up sky over eastern US

fireball-eastern-us-january-25-2017

A bright meteor streaked through the sky over the eastern United States around 09:08 UTC (04:08 local time) on January 25, 2017. The event lasted a couple of seconds and was caught on security camera in Huntsville, North Carolina.

By 17:27 UTC, the American Meteor Society received 12 reports about the fireball. It was seen from Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. There was no sound associated with the event.

Eastern US fireball heatmap - January 25, 2017

Credit: AMS

Several people from Mount Holly, NC reported a loud noise between 04:10 and 04:15 local time. One woman said it sounded like a large truck dropping a dumpster.

Jim Craig, planetarium director at The Schiele Museum in Gastonia, said the "sonic boom” heard all across Mount Holly came from a meteor breaking up in the atmosphere

YouTube video

"There is likely no meteorite to be found," NBC Charlotte's Chief Meteorologist said. "Meteors aren't that uncommon. What makes this event unique is the fact that it was very low in the sky and the amount of time it was seen."

Update, January 31

Chris Adcox managed to record this fireball with his dashboard cam:

YouTube video

Featured image: Fireball seen over the eastern United States on January 25, 2017. Credit: Rob Swanson

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