NASA Meteor Sighting Over North Carolina, Tennessee at 47,000 mph
A fireball tracked by NASA sky cameras streaked west from North Carolina into Tennessee at 47,000 mph. The agency says it was a two-inch, six-ounce piece of an asteroid that burned up in about 10 seconds, unrelated to the Taurid meteor shower.
A fireball traveling at 47,000 mph lit up the sky over North Carolina and Tennessee last week, and NASA says it was a small fragment of an asteroid. The NASA meteor sighting drew numerous photographs from eyewitnesses on social media.
The meteor first appeared about 50 miles above Robbinsville, North Carolina, according to NASA. It moved west into southern Tennessee.
It dissipated about 25 miles above East Ridge, near Chattanooga. Only about 10 seconds passed between the first and last sighting.
NASA said its specialized sky cameras, stationed across the region, captured the event. The agency analyzed footage from cameras at the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, and from others in Huntsville, Alabama, and Tullahoma, Tennessee. One more camera near the Tennessee-North Carolina border also contributed.
From that footage, NASA determined the object measured two inches in diameter and weighed six ounces.
The agency said the meteor was not part of the Taurid meteor shower, which is currently active.
NASA describes meteors, also called shooting stars, as the visible paths of asteroid fragments that enter Earth's atmosphere. Astronomers use the word fireball for an especially bright meteor. Because of how starkly fireballs appear, people can see them over a wide area.
This one was modest by fireball standards. NASA said some fireballs are much larger and can measure three feet or bigger.
