Residents of Michigan and a few neighboring states witnessed a brilliant fireball light up the night sky on Tuesday, January 16, 2018.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the meteor also caused what is the equivalent of a magnitude 2.0 earthquake.
So far there were 398 reports of the fireball, according to the American Meteor Society. The incident occurred around 8:10 PM Central Standard Time.
The fireball was also seen from Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri and Ontario, Canada.
According to the American Meteor Society:
This was a very slow-moving meteor – speed of about 28,000 miles per hour (45,000km/hour). This fact, combined with the brightness of the meteor (which suggests a fairly big space rock), shows that the object penetrated deep into the atmosphere before it broke apart (which produced the sounds heard by at least 77 observers). It is likely that there are meteorites on the ground near this region.
Links: United States Geological Survey, American Meteor Society
Special Thanks: CactusPix Motion Pictures, Storyblocks, United States Geological Survey, American Meteor Society
Rod is a blogger, writer, filmmaker, photographer, daydreamer who likes to cook. Rod produces and directs the web series, CUPIC: Diary of an Investigator. He is also the editor, producer and administrator of STM Daily News, a part of the TNC Network.
