Fireball Streaks Through Night Sky of Western Alabama

3,928 views · Published 29 March 2010 · 0:07 · Indexed 2 October 2026

Channel: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center · 2010 · Science & Technology

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Vigilant sky watchers were treated to a fiery surprise in western Alabama sky on Friday, March 19. Allsky meteor cameras at the Marshall Center and near Chickamauga, Ga., recorded a fireball streaking across the sky around 11:19 p.m. CDT. Moving at a speed of 42,500 mph -- or 12 miles per second -- the meteor burned up approximately 20 miles up in the atmosphere. Although very bright, the meteor was deemed not large enough to produce meteorites. Mid-March is typically a lull period for meteor shower activity, but several bright fireballs have recently been spotted over California, Mississippi and now Alabama.

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