A massive fireball soared over the skies of North Carolina and eventually crashed into NC’s Roanoke Rapids Lake.
The bright light in the sky caused thousands to take to social media, with some thinking the world might be ending.
I saw that fireball. It was close and intense. Craziest I’ve ever seen. Was in sky NE of Asheboro.
— Leonardo DiCorgio (@LeoDiCorgio) June 26, 2024
The event occurred around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25, with nearly 180 witness reports, according to the American Meteor Society.
NASA reported the fireball was first visible 48 miles above Allen Grove, NC, and traveled 40 miles through the atmosphere before disintegrating 28 miles above Roanoke Rapids Lake, near the NC/VA border.
A woman in Greensboro uploaded the following doorbell cam video of the fireball:
A fireball is a very bright meteor, generally brighter than magnitude -4, similar to Venus in the sky. A bolide, a special type of fireball, explodes in a bright terminal flash with visible fragmentation. Witnesses reported the fireball tinted with shades of green and an “orange fiery tail.” Green fireballs are often made of nickel.
Sightings were reported between 8:05 p.m. and 9:12 p.m. in Connecticut; Washington, D.C.; Delaware; Maryland; North Carolina; New Jersey; New Hampshire; New York; Ohio; Pennsylvania; and Virginia. Five reports were logged in Delaware from Wilmington, Newark, Dover, and Millsboro.
