Green Fireball Draws 400 Reports Across 15 States as Meteor Breaks Apart Over Midsouth
Updated
Updated · West Kentucky Star · Jun 12
Green Fireball Draws 400 Reports Across 15 States as Meteor Breaks Apart Over Midsouth
3 articles · Updated · West Kentucky Star · Jun 12
Summary
About 400 sightings from at least 15 states were filed with the American Meteor Society after a green fireball crossed the Midsouth around 10:25 p.m. Sunday.
Observers said the object stayed visible for up to 20 seconds, threw off sparks and, for people directly beneath it, appeared to break apart before vanishing.
Reports spread from Illinois and Missouri to Kentucky, Indiana, Iowa, Tennessee, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina, showing how widely the event was seen.
Scientists said the object was likely a meteor, not space debris, and that its green glow came from metals such as nickel or magnesium vaporizing as it entered the atmosphere at at least 25,000 mph.