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03/19/2024 12:35:55 am

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Four Fireballs Blaze Across Eastern U.S. Night Sky

Meteoroids

(Photo : Thusith Abeykoon/American Meteor Society) Meteoroids or space debris that enter the Earth's atmosphere and exude intense bright lights are called fireballs

Four fireball meteoroids set the skies over the eastern U.S. ablaze within 1.5 hours of each other last Wednesday, an event not that common.

According to the American Meteor Society, this meteoroid display was a rare occurrence since multiple fireballs are rarely reported in the same evening. After intensive analysis and data consolidated from witnesses all over the eastern U.S., the AMS determined that each fireball event was unique.

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The first fireball sighting was seen at 1:11 EDT in Georgia and Florida. The second fireball event was reported by more than 77 observers from Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and New York at around 21:55 local time.

The third one was observed by 29 witnesses from Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Kentucky at 20:30 local time and the fourth fireball was spotted at 20:47 local time in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Maryland by some 42 witnesses.

No sightings were seen after the fourth fireball. Fortunately, these fireballs didn't cause any damage or destruction since they disintegrated as soon as they entered the Earth's atmosphere.

Meteoroids or space debris entering the Earth's atmosphere blazing brighter than regular meteoroids and are called fireballs. NASA designates fireballs as meteoroids that possess a visual magnitude in excess of -3.

Some meteoroids that shine bright like fireballs are still not considered fireballs due to their size as they burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. A meteoroid measuring at least one meter is considered a fireball when it lands on the Earth's surface.

Exploding fireballs are also called bolides.

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