Numerous eyewitnesses in Florida reported seeing a bright fireball at 8:36 PM Eastern Daylight Time (2018 October 17 00:36 UTC). The meteor was also captured by 3 NASA meteor cameras in the region, and an analysis of their data indicates that the object first became visible at an altitude of 55 miles above Interlachen, moving due west at 45,000 miles per hour. The meteor ablated 26 miles above the west side of Gainesville, by which time it had slowed to 22,000 miles per hour. At its brightest, the fireball - which was caused by a fragment of an asteroid about 2 inches in diameter and weighing 7 ounces - was about two and 1/2 times more luminous than the planet Venus.
Event ID | 20181017-003555 |
Date (UTC) | Oct. 17, 2018 |
Time (UTC) | 00:35:55 |
AMS Event | 4209-2018 |
Magnitude | -5.0 |
Size | 2 inches |
Origin | Asteroidal |
NASA Camera Start Lat/Lon | +29.678, -81.890 |
NASA Camera End Lat/Lon | +29.647, -82.427 |
NASA Camera Altitude | 87.7 km → 41.7 km ( 54.5 miles→ 25.9 miles) |
NASA Camera Speed | 20.0 km/s (44,700 mph) |
Chicken Little Start Lat/Lon | +29.455, -81.342 |
Chicken Little End Lat/Lon | +29.433, -83.109 |
Chicken Little Altitude | 72.7 km → 72.7 km ( 45.2 miles→ 45.2 miles) |
Chicken Little Speed | 59.2 km/s (132,400 mph) |