Tens of eyewitnesses in Texas reported seeing a fireball at 10:18 PM Central Daylight Time (2018 September 19 3:18 UTC). The meteor was also detected near the eastern horizon by a NASA camera located in Mayhill, New Mexico, and a synthesis of its data with the eyewitness accounts permits a fairly precise speed determination of 33,500 miles per hour. The fireball was first observed at an altitude of 53 miles above Hamlin, Texas and travelled northwest for some 56 miles before ablating 32 miles above the town of Girard. The brightness of the meteor (close to that of a 1st quarter Moon) suggests that the fireball was caused by an object about 8 inches in diameter, with a weight around 25 pounds.
Event ID | 20180919-031700 |
Date (UTC) | Sept. 19, 2018 |
Time (UTC) | 03:17:00 |
AMS Event | 3706-2018 |
Magnitude | -7.0 |
Size | 8 inches |
Chicken Little Start Lat/Lon | +32.899, -99.997 |
Chicken Little End Lat/Lon | +33.502, -100.650 |
Chicken Little Altitude | 85.3 km → 50.8 km ( 53.0 miles→ 31.5 miles) |
Chicken Little Speed | 14.0 km/s (31,300 mph) |