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West Virginia man captures moment when giant fireball explodes in early morning sky – and NASA says it came from a comet
An amateur astronomer was snapping images of the supermoon over West Virginia Wednesday morning when a giant fireball from outer space exploded in the sky.
Bill Stewart, of Ceredo, was on his roof capturing the brilliant moon when he saw a flaming streak in the sky that “made two audible bangs.”
However, Stewart wasn’t the only observer of the cosmic display — there are more than 70 sighting reports from nine US states, including Georgia and Ohio.
NASA also acknowledged the fireball, revealing it was likely a comet fragment weighing 75 pounds traveling southeast at 37,000 miles per hour.
An amateur astronomer captured images of the supermoon over West Virginia Wednesday morning as a giant fireball exploded in midair as it fell from space
Steward shared video of the epic experience, telling SpaceWeather.com that the fireball broke through the night sky at 2:13 a.m. ET.
“The fireball made two audible bangs,” he said.
“After one bright flash, it broke into three different fragments.
One remained bright as it descended below the horizon. It might have landed, though I didn’t hear it.’
NASA’s Bill Cooke said the comet fragment “entered Earth’s atmosphere about 50 miles above the Kentucky town of Krypton, moving roughly southeast at 37,000 miles per hour.
“The object traveled 65 miles through the atmosphere before breaking up 30 miles above Duffield, Virginia.”
Cooke further explained that the breakup of the fireball produced about two tons of TNT.
Bill Stewart, of Ceredo, was on his roof capturing the brilliant moon when he saw a flaming streak in the sky that “made two audible bangs.”
NASA said the fireball’s breakup generated about two tons of TNT
The American Meteor Society, a nonprofit organization founded in 1911 that collects reports of meteors and other cosmic sightings, shows that 74 other people saw the fireball early Thursday morning.
Reports came from Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Sheen A, of Delphia, Kentucky, reported that her house shook immediately after she heard the bang.
Tennessee resident April H said, “It was the brightest and largest meteor I’ve ever seen. It was the most elegant green ball that flew through the air before suddenly turning to bright gold as it broke apart and disappeared.
“From where I live, (in Unionville) it seemed to go over the south end of Rutherford Co TN, turn east and end at Hwy. 231S.”