Ohio Fireball

Ohio Fireball

Ohio Fireball: On Sept. 27th, a meteor exploded in the skies above the US midwest. Witnesses report shadows cast upon the ground, unusual sounds, and a swirling contrail marking the aftermath of the blast. A NASA all-sky camera in Hiram, Ohio, recorded the fireball at 11:33 pm EDT:

"This was a very bright event," reports Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "Flares saturated our meteor cameras, and made determination of the end point (the terminus of the fireball's flight through the atmosphere) virtually impossible. Judging from the brightness, we are dealing with a meter class object."

Data from multiple cameras shows that the meteoroid hit Earth's atmosphere traveling 51 km/s (114,000 mph) and passed almost directly over Columbus, Ohio. Cooke has prepared a preliminary map of the ground track. According to the American Meteor Society, the fireball was visible from at least 14 US states.

Even many people where I live about 300 miles (480 Km)  south of the event observed the effects of the fireball. I, myself, did not, but I was probably unconscious, or as my then young daughter said years ago, she was not unconscious, she was asleep.