Fireball across North Carolinian Sky

On September 24, NASA Meteor Watch reported that residents in North Carolina reported seeing at least 5 fireballs, with over 80 eyewitnesses reporting the view. The event occurred at 7:40 PM EST. Upon analysis, NASA confirmed the fireballs as meteor skimming across the coast of North Carolina and had become visible due to its proximity: 48 miles above the ocean off Camp Lejeune. The fireballs were noted to be moving at 32,000 miles per hour and disintegrated just 28 miles above Moorehead City. The fireballs did not make it past the Earth’s atmosphere.

The American Meteor Society posted a video on Youtube showing the fireball meteor in the sky.

Meteoroids usually enter Earth’s atmosphere at 25,000 to 160,000 mph, but most do not maintain that speed due to the Earth’s thick atmosphere. As was the case here, the meteors had burned out before it could even reach the ground.

Fireball is not just any old term either; it is considered to be “exceptionally bright” meteors that appear brighter than planet Venus, bright enough to be observed by “ground-based observers” such as the 80 or so witnesses in North Carolina.

AMS explained that every day, Earth sees several thousand fireball meteors, but most of them tend to take place over oceans and unpopulated regions.

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