Particle.news
Download on the App Store

NASA and AMS Reconstruct Midwest Fireball, Point to Asteroidal Origin

Its relatively low entry speed points to a small asteroid remnant, not a meteor‑shower particle.

Overview

  • More than 120 eyewitness reports and numerous dashcam, doorbell, and security videos documented the bright meteor across Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Wisconsin late on February 10 local time.
  • Analyses place first visibility about 76 km above Trinity, Indiana, with a southeast track of roughly 77 km and breakup around 43 km above Laura, Ohio.
  • NASA estimated the object's speed at about 29,000 mph (47,000 km/h), which sits on the slower end of typical meteoroid entry velocities.
  • The event was classified as a sporadic fireball, with NASA stating it was not associated with any active meteor shower.
  • High-altitude fragmentation indicates the object likely fully disintegrated in the upper atmosphere, with no evidence of meteorites reaching the ground.