On Wednesday night, a spectacular fireball lit up the night skies across a vast expanse of the eastern United States and parts of Canada, creating a stunning visual phenomenon as it disintegrated in Earth’s atmosphere.
According to reports from the American Meteor Society, this celestial event captivated more than 200 eyewitnesses in 11 US states and Ontario.
The observations occurred primarily between 6:45 and 7 p.m. EST, and the duration of the sightings ranged from a fleeting 1 to a long 7.5 seconds, according to the Society.
Surprisingly, a pair of reports from Augusta, West Virginia, and Front Royal, Virginia, described the fireball remaining visible for an impressive 20 seconds.
Vivid descriptions and video evidence of the event, such as security camera footage from Lyndon, Virginia, captured by resident Donald Bradner, showed the fireball’s bright burst of light streaking across the Maryland sky.
This footage, along with reports of sightings in northern regions such as Pennsylvania and the Midwest, including Westlake, Ohio and Southfield, Michigan, highlighted the meteor’s wide visibility.
Contrary to common belief, meteors like this burn up harmlessly before reaching the Earth’s surface, as highlighted by WUSA-TV meteorologist Topper Shutt.
“Meteorites are harmless and never hit the Earth’s surface. Meteorites, on the other hand, hit the earth before burning up,” Topper Shutt said, in a report Wednesday night on the latest sightings.
Did you see it? After reports last night of a meteor across the eastern US skies, Brent Wyman sent me this video from East Lakeview Blvd in Erie. The bright flash was observed on his security camera around 6:49 PM facing southeast. ☄ #EriePA #Meteor #Fireball pic.twitter.com/AqUF1nF6lw
— AJ Mastrangelo (@AJ_Mast_WX) February 22, 2024
NASA indicates that the Earth is bombarded daily with about 48.5 tons of meteorite material.
These celestial objects, known as meteoroids until they enter Earth’s atmosphere, range in size from tiny grains of dust to large asteroids and originate from a variety of sources, including comets, the moon, and other planets.
Each year, it is estimated that tens of thousands of meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere, although the exact number can vary considerably depending on the size of these objects.
The smallest ones, often the size of grains of sand or pebbles, disintegrate completely upon entry, producing the shooting stars we can observe in the night sky.
Larger meteoroids can survive passage through the atmosphere and reach the Earth’s surface, becoming meteorites.
Most of these space objects are relatively small and do not pose a significant threat to Earth.
However, constant sky monitoring is crucial to identifying and tracking larger objects that could pose an impact risk, underscoring the importance of global near-Earth object (NEO) monitoring programs. ).
Meanwhile, the term “fireball” is reserved for especially bright meteors, and some even eclipse Venus. An event last September, for example, produced a fireball as bright as a quarter moon, traced back to a small asteroid fragment, possibly from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
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