Meteor Flash Scares Southern States
Although it may have looked impressive to people in Arkansas, scientists say that Tuesday’s meteor sighting wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. A bright flash of light in the night sky panicked people in seven southern states, from Oklahoma to Florida. They all reported seeing a bright light. Some even say they saw flames.
But astronomers say it was just a meteor entering Earth’s atmosphere. And it wasn’t even a big one. It probably started out the size of a four-door sedan car but as it entered our atmosphere it began burning material so fast that it was probably the size of a tennis ball when it got close enough to do any damage.
Bruce and Beverly Faulkner were turning into their driveway on Roberts Chapel Road near the Mississippi state line when they saw what looked like a big ball of fire. Video from WKRG in Mobile, Alabama.
WKRG.com News
Scientists say that every day about 100 meteors this size strike Earth but most of them hit in the ocean where there is no one nearby to see it. Reports are still flooding in about Tuesday’s close encounter with a rock from space.
“Somewhere around the world it occurs every hour.” — Dr. Alexander Ruzick, Portland State University
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