- A massive fireball appeared in the skies over several southern states of the United States in the early hours of the morning of June 19.
- Eyewitnesses report seeing a long streak followed by a bright flash and then a boom.
- It is unclear if any piece of the space rock reached Earth.
If you are a resident of Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Arkansas or Oklahoma and you stayed outside outside in the early morning hours of June 19, you may have hosted a truly impressive sky-watching event. A large fireball appeared in the skies and was visible in various states. Scientists have been gathering reports from across the region and now we have some awesome videos of the vent to feast our eyes on.
The American Meteorological Society, which tracks sightings of objects in the skies across the country, has compiled nearly two dozen reports of this event. As we can see from the video, if you were outside at the time, it would have been very difficult to miss.
The fireball exploded in the sky, which is not uncommon for space rocks when they enter our atmosphere. The intense pressure, friction, and heat generated as the object gets closer to Earth is often enough to make rocks literally explode.
In this case, we can see the fireball crossing the sky before it suddenly glows. That’s the big boom, and the space rock probably broke into many smaller pieces. Some of those chunks may even have survived the trip and impacted Earth, though there have been no reports of damage or injury caused by the event.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing things associated with the fireball, including a boom like a “cannon,” which is a fair description of a fireball that detonates in the skies above.
A witness reported what he saw to AMS:
I went out to see the lighting of the storms that hit Wichita from the northwest. After a flash of light, the sky turns a greenish-blue color and lights up. I saw the fireball come from my house from the south to the north. it burned halfway in the sky after passing my house. Never before had I seen a meteorite light up the sky. It reminded me of when a transformer exploded but lit up the entire sky. Lite the outside too some. It seems that he was on a smooth path and not very high.
Meteor hunters are sure to be excited about the event, as finding chunks of space rock reaching Earth’s surface can be a lot of money. Still, there is no guarantee that any piece of the rock has survived entry into the atmosphere, so searching for possible remains can be a challenge.
Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games for the past decade, covering the latest news and trends in virtual reality, handheld devices, smartphones, and future technology. Most recently, Mike served as technical editor at The Daily Dot, and has appeared on USA Today, Time.com, and countless other websites and in print. His love of reporting is second only to his addiction to games.
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