A meteorite crashing into the atmosphere caught fire and exploded near the ground in the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, creating a lasting light trail.
Images recorded by residents of Austin R showed the meteor blazing over the city of Knoxville at 9:42 p.m. local time on June 7. The phenomenon can be observed from the southern part of the United States to Ontario in central Canada.
“The light streak lasted about 3.5 seconds. We received over 120 fireball sightings in 12 US states including Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina , South Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the Canadian province of Ontario, ”the Meteorological Association (AMS) said in a Twitter post.
In astronomy, the fireball is the term used to refer to a super bright meteor, with an apparent magnitude of at least -14, which means it is twice as bright as the Moon as seen from Earth. The phenomenon occurs when a small object in space flies through the atmosphere and burns due to friction.
AMS estimates that up to 500,000 fireballs appear worldwide each year. However, they are rarely seen as most occur during the day or over the ocean.
