Iowans share photos of fiery meteor spotted Friday

Some Iowans witnessed an unexpected sight in the sky Friday morning. A fireball-shaped meteor streaked through the atmosphere around 6:15 a.m. The meteor itself was located over southwestern Wisconsin but was visible from hundreds of miles away. NASA’s Meteor Watch reports that “More than 70 witnesses in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota filed reports on the American Meteor Society website of a bright fireball seen this morning (Aug. 23) at 6:13 a.m. Central Daylight Time. Analysis of these accounts indicates that the meteor was first seen about 50 miles above Fairchild, Wisconsin, and was moving slightly east-south at about 36,000 mph. After traveling 39 miles through the atmosphere, it exploded twice before breaking up about 29 miles above Shamrock.” Meteors often break apart upon entering the atmosphere and can explode, and that’s exactly what happened, according to Meteor Watch: “The fireball broke apart with an energy of approximately 60 tons of TNT and the flares were easily detected by the fixed lightning mapping instruments on the GOES 16 and GOES 18 satellites. Available data suggests the meteor was caused by a small asteroid, about 3.5 feet in diameter and weighing about 4,000 pounds, entering the atmosphere.” » Download the free KCCI app for updates on the go: Apple | Google Play Get the latest headlines from KCCI

Des Moines, Iowa —

Some Iowa residents witnessed an unexpected sight in the sky on Friday morning.

A fireball-shaped meteor streaked through the atmosphere around 6:15 a.m. The meteor itself was located over southwestern Wisconsin but could be seen from hundreds of miles away.

NASA’s Meteor Watch Program reports that “More than 70 witnesses in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota have filed reports on the American Meteor Society website of a bright fireball seen this morning (Aug. 23) at 6:13 a.m. Central Daylight Time. Analysis of these reports indicates that the meteor was first seen 50 miles above Fairchild, Wisconsin, and was moving east-south at 36,000 mph. After traveling 39 miles through the atmosphere, it exploded twice before detonating 29 miles above Shamrock.”

Meteors often break up as they enter the atmosphere and can explode, and that’s exactly what happened, according to Meteor Watch: “The fireball exploded with an energy equivalent to 60 tons of TNT and the flares were easily detected by the fixed lightning mapping instruments on the GOES 16 and GOES 18 satellites. Available data suggests the meteor was caused by a small asteroid, about 3.5 feet in diameter and weighing about 4,000 pounds, entering the atmosphere.”

Brian Burt

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Steve Steward