• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Weatherboy

Weatherboy Weather News, Maps, RADAR, Satellite, and Forecasts.

  • Local
  • Earth Science News
  • RADAR
  • Current Warnings
  • Satellite
  • Current Maps
  • Forecast Maps
  • Video

Fireball Spotted in Mid Atlantic

by Weatherboy Team Meteorologist - June 7, 2017

In this file photo, a fireball can appear in the night sky as a glowing streak of light, with the forward portion of the streak appearing as a glowing ball of fire in some cases.
In this file photo, a fireball can appear in the night sky as a glowing streak of light, with the forward portion of the streak appearing as a glowing ball of fire in some cases.

Social media lit-up on the evening of June 6 as an apparent fireball was spotted in the Mid Atlantic. According to the American Meteor Society (AMS), a fireball is another term for a very bright meteor, generally brighter than magnitude -4, which is about the same magnitude of the planet Venus in the morning or evening sky. A bolide is a special type of fireball which explodes in a bright terminal flash at its end, often with visible fragmentation. Users went to Twitter to post their #meteor or #fireball experience.


Twitter users shared their experience of watching the fireball streak through the night sky over the Mid Atlantic.
Twitter users shared their experience of watching the fireball streak through the night sky over the Mid Atlantic.

The American Meteor Society received 28 reports from the Mid Atlantic of the fireball. Those that saw it are encouraged to complete an online form on their website here to describe what they saw and when they saw it.  But they caution  different things -not- to report. “Please don’t report sightings that lasted more than 30 seconds…don’t report recurring events…(and) don’t report slow blinking objects or lights crossing the sky going by 2 or 3,” the AMS website posts. The vast majority of fireballs are only visible for a few seconds, seeing a fireball is extremely rare and often a once in a lifetime event, and typically looks like a big shooting star.


 

As of the morning of June 7, 28 fireball sightings were recorded on the American Meteor Society website. Source: American Meteor Society
As of the morning of June 7, 28 fireball sightings were recorded on the American Meteor Society website. Source: American Meteor Society

Primary Sidebar

Sponsored Ad

Search

Latest News

  • Friday Smoke Forecast Looks Bad for Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC
  • NOAA Announces the Official Arrival of El Nino
  • USGS Raises Volcano Alert Level to WARNING as Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Erupts
  • Smoke Creating Very Hazardous Air Travel Conditions Around Philadelphia, Newark, and New York City Airports
  • Smoking 1/2 Pack of Cigarettes Healthier than Breathing in New York City’s Smoky Air Today; Same is True in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Other States
  • Smoke from Canadian Fires to Become More Thick in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts on Wednesday
  • Hurricane Center Monitoring Disturbance in Northeast Atlantic Ocean
  • USGS Raises Alert Level and Aviation Color Code for Volcano: ADVISORY / YELLOW
About | Careers | Contact | Contests
Terms | Privacy | Ad Choices
Weatherboy is a (R) Registered Trademark of isarithm LLC, All Rights Reserved.
All content herein is Copyright by Isarithm LLC 1997-2022