Updated

Updated · FOX13 Memphis · Jun 15

Fireball Draws Nearly 400 Reports Across 15 States, Flashing Green Over the Mid-South

Updated

Updated · FOX13 Memphis · Jun 15

Fireball Draws Nearly 400 Reports Across 15 States, Flashing Green Over the Mid-South

Q: Did the St. Louis fireball drop meteorites, and are they from a new, undiscovered cosmic source?

No confirmed meteorites have been reported from the St. Louis fireball, and there is no evidence it came from a new or undiscovered cosmic source. What is known is that the June 14 event, cataloged by the American Meteor Society as Event 4372-2026, was a very bright fireball or super bolide seen across a wide region. Witnesses reported fragmentation and some heard sound, which means pieces may have broken apart in the atmosphere and raises the possibility that small meteorites could have survived. But the available reporting does not confirm any stones were recovered on the ground. The source also appears ordinary in astronomical terms. The event is described as a small asteroid fragment entering Earth’s atmosphere, which is consistent with known natural solar system material. Broader AMS analysis of the 2026 fireball surge points to stronger activity from established sporadic sources, especially asteroidal populations such as the Anthelion source and high-declination radiants, not a newly discovered cosmic origin. So the careful answer is that meteorite fall remains possible but unproven for this specific event. If meteorites are eventually found, scientists would need trajectory data, radar, infrasound, and laboratory analysis to determine where in the solar system they came from. For now, there is no verified recovery and no sign of an unknown source.

3 articles · Updated · FOX13 Memphis · Jun 15

Nearly 400 eyewitness reports reached the American Meteor Society after a bright fireball crossed the sky shortly after 10:30 p.m. CDT Sunday, visible from Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and 12 other states.
Witnesses described a greenish-white streak that lit up the sky and in some cases appeared to break apart before vanishing, suggesting a meteor burning intensely in the atmosphere.
Scientists said the green glow likely came from superheated metals such as nickel or magnesium as the space rock plunged through the air at tens of thousands of miles per hour.
Experts currently believe the object was a natural meteor, not man-made debris, and are reviewing reports, videos and security footage to map its path and assess whether any fragments survived.