A bright fireball lit up the sky over Tennessee and North Carolina after a small asteroid fragment entered Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of approximately 75,000 km/h. The phenomenon was observed at around 7:45 p.m. local time on November 5, and NASA confirmed that the object was not associated with the Taurid meteor shower, which was active in November.
The meteor was first detected over the Robbinsville area of North Carolina. According to NASA data, it traveled along a steep trajectory, covering approximately 190 kilometers in less than 10 seconds before disintegrating at an altitude of about 40 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. The flight ended over East Ridge, Tennessee, in the Chattanooga area.
Four Cameras Tracked the Flight
The phenomenon was recorded by four cameras from NASA’s All Sky Fireball Network. The official record indicates an initial altitude of 86.3 kilometers and a final altitude of 40.5 kilometers. The calculated speed was 21.2 kilometers per second, equivalent to approximately 47,500 miles per hour.
Despite the impressive light, the celestial body was relatively small. NASA described it as a fragment approximately 5 centimeters in diameter and weighing about 6 ounces, or around 170 grams. This means that the effect on observers was far greater than the object’s actual size.
Multicolored Light and an Unusual Sound
Residents of the region described a bright trail that passed through shades of blue, white, yellow, and orange. Some eyewitnesses also heard a sound during the flyby.
“It was unquestionably the most impressive fireball I have ever seen,” one eyewitness said.Another Chattanooga resident described the sound as resembling the crackle of a lighter and said that the object left behind a dense and bright luminous trail. There is no evidence that fragments of the meteor reached the Earth’s surface. The recorded event was classified as an individual meteor flight, rather than part of a meteor shower.
Source: woman.bg