Numerous eyewitnesses in the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin reported seeing a bright fireball on the early morning of December 16, at 6:50 AM Central Standard Time (2020 December 16 12:50 UTC). An analysis of these accounts shows that the fireball first became visible 54 miles above Duluth, Minnesota, moving to the southeast at 56,000 miles per hour. It ablated 36 miles above Wisconsin’s Whittlesey Creek Wildlife Refuge, on the southwestern shore of Chequamegon Bay.
Event ID | 20201216-125000 |
Date (UTC) | Dec. 16, 2020 |
Time (UTC) | 12:50:00 |
AMS Event | 7723-2020 |
Chicken Little Start Lat/Lon | +46.828, -92.040 |
Chicken Little End Lat/Lon | +46.585, -90.963 |
Chicken Little Altitude | 87.1 km → 57.5 km ( 54.1 miles→ 35.7 miles) |
Chicken Little Speed | 25.1 km/s (56,100 mph) |