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Incredible video footage shows flaming meteor igniting North Carolina.
Nasa confirmed that at least five “fireball” meteors were seen in different parts of the United States on Friday, but the one that attracted the most public attention was over Tar Heel State, where more than 80 astronomers spotted the flaming space rock at around 7:40 p.m.
“An analysis of these accounts shows that the meteor touched the coast of North Carolina, becoming visible 48 miles above the ocean off Camp Lejeune, moving northeast 32,000 miles at time. NASA Meteor Watch noted. “It disintegrated 28 miles above Morehead City, after traveling 42 miles through Earth’s upper atmosphere.”
A black and white video of the event, apparently taken from a resident’s porch, clearly shows a bright meteor exploding in flames as it shoots down toward the horizon.
A color video, taken from a driver’s dashcam, shows the same fireball from a different angle.
According to American Meteor Society, 161 people said they saw a fireball on Friday night in five different states: North Carolina, Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
Several have spoken in the comments below from NASA Facebook post to share what they saw.
“I saw it!” wrote an astronomer. “I live 45 minutes northwest of RDU airport and was wondering if a plane was exploding! It was just a little above tree line and moved north, and burned down before it hit tree line.
“We saw this one cross the sky from the beach in Pawleys Island, South Carolina on Friday night,” recalls another. “It was amazing. We saw it break too. We were sure it was going to hit the water.
As the AMS puts it, a fireball is “another term for a very bright meteor,” brighter than the planet Venus typically appears in the night sky.
Several thousand fireball meteors enter Earth’s atmosphere every day, according to the AMS, but most of them burn over oceans or other uninhabited areas, often during the day, when they are more difficult to see.
AMS urges anyone who witnesses a fireball to recall what they saw.
“If you happen to see any of these memorable events, we ask that you report it to the American Meteor Society, reminding yourself of as many details as possible,” the organization said. “This will include things like brightness, length in the sky, color, and duration.”
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