Very bright fireball over Arizona and Nevada, U.S.
A very bright fireball was observed streaking through the night sky over Arizona and Nevada at 01:53 UTC on October 25, 2022. The event was seen by people from Utah to California and detected by a NASA all-sky meteor camera at the MMTO observatory in southern Arizona and several internet-accessible cameras in the region.
The American Meteor Society (AMS) received 133 reports from users in Arizona, Nevada, Utah and California.1
Estimates of the fireball’s brightness vary widely, but it was brighter than the Full Moon, which means it was caused by an asteroidal fragment weighing at least 31 kg (70 pounds) and greater than 30 cm (1 foot) in diameter.
Analysis of the available data indicates that the meteor was first sighted 77 km (48 miles) above the White Hills in northwestern Arizona, moving to the northwest at 49 000 km/h (30 500 mph).2
The object managed to survive traveling over 67 km (42 miles) through the upper atmosphere before breaking up 45 km (28 miles) above Boulder City in southern Nevada.
The meteor had two major fragmentation events, as the videos show two very bright flares near the end of its trajectory.
References:
1 AMS event #7315-2022 – October 25, 2022 – AMS
2 Fireball over northern Arizona/southern Nevada – October 25, 2022 – NASA Meteor Watch
Featured image credit: Jay Manning
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