An amateur astronomer was snapping images of the supermoon over West Virginia Wednesday morning when a giant fireball exploded in the sky as it fell from space.
Bill Stewart, from Ceredo, was perched on his rooftop to capture the brilliant moon when he saw a blazing streak in the sky that ‘made two audible booms.’
Stewart, however, was not a lone observer of the cosmic display – there are more than 70 sighting reports from nine US states, including Georgia and Ohio.
NASA has also acknowledged the fireball, revealing it was likely a comet fragment weighing 75 pounds that traveled southeast at 37,000 miles per hour.
An amateur astronomer was snapping images of the supermoon over West Virginia Wednesday morning when a giant fireball exploded in the sky as it fell from space
Steward shared a video of the epic experience, telling SpaceWeather.com that the fireball broke through the night sky at 2:13 am ET.
‘The fireball made two audible booms,’ he said.
‘After one bright flash, it broke into three distinct fragments.
‘One remained bright as it descended below the horizon. It could have possibly touched down although I didn’t hear it impact.’
NASA’s Bill Cooke said the comet fragment ‘entered Earth’s atmosphere about 50 miles above the Kentucky town of Krypton, moving roughly southeast at 37,000 miles per hour.
‘The object traveled 65 miles through the atmosphere before disintegrating 30 miles above Duffield, Virginia.’
Cooke continued explaining that the fireball’s breakup generated about two tons of TNT.
Bill Stewart, from Ceredo, was perched on his rooftop to capture the brilliant moon when he saw a blazing streak in the sky that ‘made two audible booms.’
NASA said the fireball’s breakup generated about two tons of TNT
The American Meteor Society, a non-profit founded in 1911 that collects reports of meteors and other cosmic sightings, shows 74 other people spotted the fireball early Thursday morning.
Reports came from Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Sheen A, from Delphia, Kentucky, reported her house shook immediately after she heard the boom.
Tennessee resident April H shared: ‘It was the brightest and biggest meteor I have ever seen. It was the most elegant green ball arcing across the sky before it suddenly turned to a bright gold as it broke apart and disappeared.
‘From where I live, [in Unionville] it appeared to have been going over the southern end of Rutherford Co TN, headed East and ended near Hwy. 231S.’
