Huge fireball streaking over Texas was probably ‘size of a small car’ at one point
More than 200 people reported seeing a large, bright object flying over Texas and surrounding states to the American Meteor Society.
“This was the brightest meteor I’ve ever seen over a lit populated area,” one person in Yoakum, Texas, said of the 10:25 p.m. Sunday, July 24, event.
“This was an ecstatic event to see,” reported someone in College Station.
“I’ve seen similar events before but this was the slowest moving and close, spectacular one I have ever seen,” someone in Austin wrote.
Because the meteor was so much brighter than one might expect, it’s actually classified as a fireball, according to experts with the American Meteor Society.
“A fireball is a meteor that is larger and brighter than normal,” the non-profit scientific organization said. “Most meteors are only the size of tiny pebbles. A meteor the size of a softball can produce light equivalent to the full moon for a short instant.”
In this particular event, the AMS believes the object was likely “the size of a small car” before it entered Earth’s atmosphere. It was so bright because of how fast it struck our atmosphere.
“Even the slowest meteors are still traveling at 10 miles per SECOND, which is much faster than any round fired from a firearm,” the organization said.
While the AMS says it receives hundreds of reports each day, officials believe thousands of meteors that reach “fireball magnitude” occur daily.
Most go unnoticed, though, because they take place over oceans, unpopulated areas or during daylight.
“Those that occur at night also stand little chance of being detected due to the relatively low numbers of persons out to notice them,” the society said. “Additionally, the brighter the fireball, the more rare is the event.”
Parts of this particular fireball — meteorites, or small fragments — are believed to have made it to the ground based on several witnesses who reported hearing a sonic boom.
Sonic booms caused by bright fireballs are “quite rare,” according to the AMS.
This rare fireball was also seen over Oklahoma and Louisiana, according to reports. It is believed to have entered the atmosphere over Cistern, Texas, and ended its flight a few miles west of Austin — that’s about 50 miles northwest from where its path in our atmosphere began.
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