Bright fireball over South Carolina

A bright, long-lasting fireball was seen across the sky over South Carolina at 00:45 UTC on April 13, 2017 (20:45 EDT, April 12). Witnesses described a bright, white light lasting for about 10 seconds. Many said the object left a long tail.

The event was seen primarily from South Carolina but people from Georgia, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennesee, and Alabama also reported seeing the fireball.

The American Meteor Society (AMS) received 190 witness reports by 11:47 UTC. 6 of them said sound was associated with the event while 25 observed fragmentation.

Based on the received reports, the AMS plotted the preliminary estimated trajectory. It shows the object was traveling from the northeast to the southwest and ended its visible flight near Longs in Horry County, South Carolina.

Fireball over South Carolina, April 2017 – Heatmap. Credit: AMS

South Carolina fireball, 3-D estimated trajectory- April 2017. Credit: AMS

Teo Blašković

I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.

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