Michigan residents statewide witnessed a fireball — a notably bright meteor — streaking through the sky last week.
From June 19-20, 104 witness reports of a fireball streaking through the Earth’s atmosphere were sent in from Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Ontario, Canada, to the nonprofit scientific organization American Meteor Society.
According to the reports, shortly after 8 p.m. on Friday, June 19, a fireball dashed across Michigan’s sky moving northeast appearing as a bright yellow or orange-red streak. The fireball also left behind a smoke trail.
Most of the reports were sourced from Michigan and scattered all over the state.
Videos and photos of the fast-moving fireball have been circulating via social media since the event.
On June 19, the weather organization, Michigan Storm Chasers posted two videos of the fireball on its Facebook page, captured in Cheboygan and Posen located in the northeast Lower Peninsula.
Michigan’s June 19 fireball sightings captured on video
Here are the videos from the Michigan Storm Chasers of the fireball sighted in Cheboygan and Posen Friday night, June 19:
Here is the fireball captured on video taken from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada:
What is a fireball?
A fireball is a term for exceptionally bright meteors, according to the AMS and NASA Center for Near Earth Object Studies.
“A fireball is an unusually bright meteor that reaches a visual magnitude of -3 or brighter when seen at the observer’s zenith. Objects causing fireball events can exceed one meter in size. Fireballs that explode in the atmosphere are technically referred to as bolides although the terms fireballs and bolides are often used interchangeably,” the CNEOS said.
Fireballs may appear in vivid colors from red to blue or rarely violet, and they leave behind “contrails” similar to a plane’s, however, it is called a smoke trail and consists of non-luminous particulate stripped away from the extreme heat — several photos of this were captured on June 19.
How do I report a fireball/meteor in Michigan?
Michigan residents may send in a fireball report via the AMS online for free. You will be asked to include your name, a photo/video if possible and details on the location, direction of the fireball, brightness, color, sound, fragmentation, and its train or trail.
The organization includes four restrictions:
Contact Sarah Moore @ smoore@lsj.com
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Fireball captured Michigan’s attention on June 19. See videos
Reporting by Sarah Moore, USA TODAY NETWORK / Lansing State Journal
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By Sarah Moore, USA TODAY NETWORK | USA TODAY Network
