At 6:38 PM Central Standard Time (2018 November 9 00:38 UTC), a fireball was observed by numerous eyewitnesses in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin. An analysis of their reports indicates that the meteor was first sighted some 52 miles above the southern end of Lake Michigan, moving almost exactly due west at 60,000 miles per hour. It ablated 31 miles above the Chicago suburb of Wheaton. The NASA all sky meteor cameras in Ohio were clouded out, but a video of the event has surfaced on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYRdOhgV_R0. This meteor was not a member of the currently active Taurid shower - it was coming from the wrong direction.
Event ID | 20181109-003800 |
Date (UTC) | Nov. 9, 2018 |
Time (UTC) | 00:38:00 |
AMS Event | 4757-2018 |
Chicken Little Start Lat/Lon | +41.894, -87.219 |
Chicken Little End Lat/Lon | +41.897, -88.062 |
Chicken Little Altitude | 83.5 km → 50.0 km ( 51.9 miles→ 31.0 miles) |
Chicken Little Speed | 26.7 km/s (59,700 mph) |