At 12:19 AM Central Daylight Time, numerous eyewitnesses in the Southeast reported seeing a very bright fireball, which was also detected by all six NASA meteor cameras in the region. Analysis of the data indicates that the meteor was first seen at an altitude of 58 miles above Turkeytown, Alabama (northeast of Gadsden), moving west of north at 53,700 miles per hour. It fragmented some 18 miles above the small town of Grove Oak. Early results indicate the fireball, which was at least 40 times as bright as the full moon, was caused by a small asteroid 6 feet (2 meters) in diameter.
Event ID | 20180817-051837 |
Date (UTC) | Aug. 17, 2018 |
Time (UTC) | 05:18:37 |
AMS Event | 3089-2018 |
Magnitude | -18.0 |
Size | 6 feet |
Origin | Asteroidal |
NASA Camera Start Lat/Lon | +34.042, -85.883 |
NASA Camera End Lat/Lon | +34.475, -86.113 |
NASA Camera Altitude | 94.8 km → 27.1 km ( 58.9 miles→ 16.8 miles) |
NASA Camera Speed | 22.3 km/s (49,900 mph) |
Chicken Little Start Lat/Lon | +34.229, -85.763 |
Chicken Little End Lat/Lon | +34.638, -86.057 |
Chicken Little Altitude | 68.5 km → 42.2 km ( 42.6 miles→ 26.2 miles) |
Chicken Little Speed | 16.6 km/s (37,100 mph) |