A MASSIVE fireball has been spotted flying through the cloudless sky in multiple Southeastern states.
Video showed a blazing streak falling down on Thursday afternoon before it reportedly crashed into a home in Georgia.
The mysterious fireball could be a meteorite, according to the National Weather Service.
Several fire departments in South Carolina reacted swiftly to locate the potential meteorite that fell on Thursday afternoon, as reported by Fox affiliate WHNS.
Police are still investigating what the object was and where it came from.
The fireball reportedly hit the roof of a home in Georgia and landed on the floor of the house, according to ABC affiliate WSB-TV.
Pictures showed a tiny hole in the roof of a house and debris on the floor where the possible meteorite landed.
“Many reports of a #fireball across the Southeast US,” NWS said.
“It is not certain, but the satellite-based lightning detection shows a streak within cloud free sky over the NC/VA border, over [Gasburg, Virginia.”
NWS said satellites detected the fireball from 11:51 to 11:56 am.
More than 100 people reported seeing it to the American Meteor Society, according to the organization’s website.
Following sightings of the streak by individuals in South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, the fireball seemed to descend into the atmosphere above central South Carolina.
Video taken in Greenville, South Carolina, showed the fireball falling from the sky at 12:21 pm, according to NBC affiliate WYFF.
While officials said the blaze resembled a meteorite, other experts think it could be some kind of fiery debris.
Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich told NBC affiliate WCNC that the fireball was “very low in the atmosphere.”
“I am curious if this was a piece of space debris, a rocket body or degrading space junk,” the expert said.
What’s the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet?
Here’s what you need to know, according to Nasa…
- Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth)
- Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids
- Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it’ll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up
- Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn’t vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth’s atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite
- Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vaporizing)
He said the object’s brightness signaled that “it was most likely burning up in the atmosphere.”
“If it were a meteor, it would have had to be very large to be that bright in the middle of the day,” he added.
According to some social media accounts, there were reports of a boom sound or power disruptions in the vicinity where the meteorite might have crashed, although none of these accounts have been verified.
A few witnesses were unsettled by the sight of the flaming object.
“Um, should we be worried that a massive fireball is flying across the
Southeast? Someone should definitely check on that,” one wrote on X.
Another shared, “A ‘fireball’ just spotted over Tennessee and Georgia and people freaked out because they’ve never seen a meteorite before.”
