Brilliant blue-green fireball explodes over Minnesota, Manitoba and Ontario
Featured image: Brilliant fireball over Manitoba, Ontario and Minnesota on January 4, 2018. Credit: Bemidji Police Department
A very bright blue-green fireball exploded above Minnesota, Manitoba and Ontario border region at 03:24 UTC on January 4, 2018 (21:24 CST, January 3). The event lasted several seconds and was followed by a sonic boom.
The American Meteor Society (AMS) received 338 reports by 18:00 UTC today. The event was primarily seen from southern Manitoba, Canada but people from eastern Ontario and Minnesota also reported seeing it.
8 people reported concurrent sound associated with the event and 8 delayed sound.
Preliminary trajectory and heatmap:
Credit: AMS
The event coincides with the Quadrantid meteor shower peak, known for bright fireballs.
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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