At 12:08 PM Eastern Standard Time on December 2, 2020 (2020 December 2 at 17:08 UTC), a large meteoroid entered Earth's atmosphere over upper New York, between Rochester and Syracuse. Traveling westward at 56,000 miles per hour, it broke into pieces at an altitude of approximately 22 miles, producing a bright flash seen by the public and cameras in the area. Unfortunately only a few uncalibrated videos of the actual meteor have surfaced, so it is not currently possible to establish an orbit for this object; the slow speed suggests an asteroidal origin. The shock waves from the disruption also produced "booms" heard by many in the area. The shock wave not only produced sounds, but it coupled into the ground and was registered by seismic instruments in the region. The fireball was bright enough to be detected by the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) onboard the GOES 16 weather satellite. Initial analysis of the GLM light curve shows that the object causing the fireball broke apart with an energy of 66 tons of TNT, indicating it had a diameter of 31-35 inches.
Event ID | 20201202-170757 |
Date (UTC) | Dec. 2, 2020 |
Time (UTC) | 17:07:57 |
AMS Event | 7267-2020 |
Size | 31-35 inches |
Origin | likely asteroidal |
Chicken Little Start Lat/Lon | +43.036, -76.149 |
Chicken Little End Lat/Lon | +42.855, -76.721 |
Chicken Little Altitude | 90.0 km → 35.0 km ( 55.9 miles→ 21.7 miles) |
Chicken Little Speed | 25.0 km/s (55,900 mph) |