Fireball meteor over North Carolina and Tennessee, Digi Mart USA News: A meteor lit up the skies over parts of North Carolina and Tennessee on Thursday night, traveling at 47,000 mph, according to NASA. Eyewitnesses shared numerous photographs of the fireball on social media.
The fireball first appeared about 50 miles above the North Carolina town of Robbinsville. NASA said the meteor was also captured by its sky cameras, specialized imaging systems stationed throughout the region, which tracked it as it traveled westward into southern Tennessee.
The meteor eventually dissipated about 25 miles above the city of East Ridge, near Chattanooga. About 10 seconds passed between its first and final sighting.
NASA analyzed the meteor using footage from sky cameras at the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, and other stations in Huntsville, Alabama, Tullahoma, Tennessee, and one more location near the Tennessee-North Carolina border. The agency determined that the object was a small piece of an asteroid, measuring two inches in diameter and weighing six ounces.
Meteors, also called “shooting stars,” are the visible paths of asteroid fragments that enter Earth’s atmosphere, according to NASA. Astronomers use the term “fireball” to describe an especially bright meteor, which can be seen over a wide area.
Some fireballs are much larger than the one seen over North Carolina and Tennessee, with NASA saying they can measure three feet or more in size.
NASA said the meteor was not part of the Taurid meteor shower, which is currently active.
