The National Weather Service in Detroit said a flash seen over Michigan and the boom heard was not thunder or lightning — but instead a likely meteor. According to CBS Detroit, residents have been calling in to report what some describe as a boom or blast heard just after 8 p.m.
“Heard a boom and I kind of thought I felt something — and my dog freaked out,” one caller told the station.
NWS Detroit says they will continue to monitor feeds from astronomical agencies for official confirmation.
Videos posted to social media purportedly show the night sky lighting up just after 8 p.m. local time:
In addition, a reporter with CBS affiliate WWMT-TV caught this image of the possible meteor:
Through a text alert to residents, Ingham County Emergency Management Update wrote “Multiple sources report that a fireball meteor was seen over the county earlier this evening. While many also reported an explosion, there is no indication that anything landed on the ground or caused damage. Most likely it was the boom of the meteor breaking apart. And that there is no need to call 911.”
Michael Narlock, head of astronomy at Cranbrook Institute of Science, said Tuesday’s incident appears to be what’s considered a bolide meteor, which tends to be large and explodes in the atmosphere. Narlock adds that this incident is similar to the meteor that was seen over Russia in 2013.
They can be silent as they fall or they may make a crackling sound, Narlock adds. He says his colleagues reported hearing crackling.
Narlock says bolide meteors move across the atmosphere, come apart and the likeliness of it falling and reaching Earth intact is rare.
This is a developing story. Please check back for latest updates.
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