Event: 20210924-234000


There were many reports of at least 5 fireballs seen over the United States on September 24-25, 2021. The largest grouping of eyewitness accounts (over 80) is associated with an event that occurred at 7:40 pm Eastern Daylight Time on September 24, 2021 (2021 September 24 23:40 UTC). An analysis of these accounts shows that the meteor skimmed the coast of North Carolina, becoming visible 48 miles above the ocean off Camp Lejeune and moving northeast at 32,000 miles per hour. It disintegrated 28 miles above Morehead City, after traveling 26 miles through Earth's upper atmosphere.

There is more than the usual amount of uncertainty in the trajectory solution due to all the observers being located to the west of the fireball. At least 2 videos have been posted of this event; one, submitted to the American Meteor Society, is on YouTube.


Other Videos


Event Data

Event ID 20210924-234000
Date (UTC) Sept. 24, 2021
Time (UTC) 23:40:00
AMS Event 5940-2021
Chicken Little Start Lat/Lon +34.501, -76.946
Chicken Little End Lat/Lon +34.687, -76.764
Chicken Little Altitude 77.4 km → 44.8 km ( 48.1 miles→ 27.8 miles)
Chicken Little Speed 14.0 km/s (31,400 mph)