Just before midnight on Sept. 27-28, sky watchers in more than a dozen US states witnessed a bright flash of light. NASA all-sky cameras recorded a brilliant fireball, which analysts believe was a meter-class space rock exploding almost directly above Columbus, Ohio.
Witnesses reported shadows cast upon the ground, unusual sounds, and a swirling contrail marking the aftermath of the blast. A NASA all-sky camera in Hiram, Ohio, recorded the fireball at 11:33 pm EDT:
“This was a very bright event,” reports Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office. “Flares saturated our meteor cameras, and made determination of the end point (the terminus of the fireball’s flight through the atmosphere) virtually impossible. Judging from the brightness, we are dealing with a meter class object.”
A preliminary map of the ground track – click image for larger view
Data from multiple cameras shows that the meteoroid hit Earth’s atmosphere traveling 51 km/s (114,000 mph) and passed almost directly over Columbus, Ohio. Cooke has prepared a preliminary map of the ground track. According to the American Meteor Society, the fireball was visible from at least 14 US states.
More information is available at the American Meteor Society.
Filed under: Meteors & Meteorites
