The Great 2018 Michigan Fireball

Seen across seven states, a meteor in the skies of southeastern Michigan quickly brightened into a fireball, and then exploded, filling the sky with flashes of bright blue-white light. Some witnesses heard a large BOOM! concurrent with the flash - many reported hearing the sound delayed. There have been numerous reports of houses shaking, windows rattling, and frightened pets. Technically, the event was a bolide - a fireball that explodes in the atmosphere, often with visible fragmentation and bright blue-white light and flashes. Many of my astronomer friends are referring to it as a superbolide - a bolide that reaches an apparent magnitude of −17 or brighter. Sitting in front of my computer, in my basement, I completely missed this rare astronomical event... My Go-To site for the reporting of fireballs is the The American Meteor Society. Shortly after the event, their website had crashed, displaying the following message: "Major event in Michigan. Server is getting overloaded. We'll be back asap, check back soon. … Continue reading →

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