A meteor that lit up the sky over southeast Tennessee on Thursday in what one witness called the “largest fireball” they had ever seen was a piece of an asteroid vaporizing above Earth, NASA said. The fireball was first seen over Robbinsville, North Carolina, around 7:45 p.m., traveling about 47,000 miles per hour in Earth’s atmosphere, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported. The fireball was first seen over Robbinsville, North Carolina, around 7:45 p.m., traveling at about 47,000 miles per hour in Earth’s atmosphere, officials said. AP The cosmic debris then traveled about 120 miles toward East Ridge, Tennessee in less than 10 seconds, where it disintegrated 40 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. Witnesses on Reddit said the fireball streaked across the sky, glowing blue, white and yellow-orange, and one said it was the “largest fireball” they had ever seen, the outlet reported. Another witness in Chattanooga said he heard a sound like the “poof” of a lighter in the sky as the chunk of rock screeched overhead, leaving behind “the craziest tail.” For all the spectacular light and sound it caused, the fireball ended up being a small two-inch fragment of an asteroid that weighed less than half a pound, NASA confirmed Friday. Officials said the cosmic debris traveled about 120 miles toward East Ridge, Tennessee, in less than ten seconds, where it disintegrated 40 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. NASA NASA’s All Sky Fireball network captured the asteroid from multiple directions using a series of black and white video cameras equipped with a fisheye lens, according to the local newspaper. The agency was able to calculate the height and speed of the fireball using the camera settings. Agency officials said the fireball was not part of the Taurid meteor shower, which is typically active during November and brings bright meteors.
