Stunning fireball explodes over Texas sky; sonic boom suggests meteorite hit Earth

A fireball exploded high in Earth’s atmosphere over Texas and the sonic boom indicates a meteorite actually crashed into Earth.

A giant fireball was caught on camera as it exploded in the sky above Texas in the United States. The video shared by the American Meteor Society showcased the fireball coursing through the Earth’s atmosphere before disappearing. Though there are no reports of any damage from the occurrence, the explosion created a sonic boom that was heard for miles. The space object exploded around 3:26 a.m. local time on July 24. This also suggests that a meteorite crashed on earth. Those who search for it should ideally seek permission from land owners before doing anything.

According to the American Meteor Society, the event was reported by more than 600 people. The event was not only seen in Texas but was also spotted in other states like Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and the Lone Star State.

“The initial computer-generated trajectory shows that this fireball entered the atmosphere over Cistern, Texas, and its flight ended just a few miles west of Austin,” EarthSky reported.

The fireball was captured in automatic doorbell cameras and was uploaded to the AMS website. As of now, there is no information available on the potential size of the space rock, its origin, and path.

Do note that a meteor is the bright flash of light which is known as the shooting star. A meteorite is the fragment that is produced from meteors and can be found on the planet’s surface after surviving the passage. As most meteors burn up completely in the atmosphere they do not produce any surviving meteorites. However, this one looks to be different and a meteorite probably did land on Earth.

Meteors vs Asteroids

NASA explains the difference between meteors and asteroids. It says, “Asteroids are larger than the pebble-size objects we call meteoroids. A meteor is what happens when a meteoroid – a small piece of an asteroid or comet – burns up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere, creating a streak of light in the sky.”

What is a meteorite?

NASA says, a meteorite is a rock that falls to Earth from space.