Bright Leonid Fireball

There are numerous reports of a bright fireball over northwest Alabama on Sunday, Nov. 18 at approximately 7:30 p.m. EST (6:30 p.m. CST). Southeastern cameras  managed by NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office recorded the fireball, which was brighter than the moon.

(Credit: NASA/MFSC/MEO) 

(Credit: NASA/MFSC/MEO)

The image above is from the Marshall Space Flight Center camera. The moon is the bright object at the bottom right, and the fireball is the REALLY bright object. Even though this was a very bright fireball, the meteor fragmented too high in the atmosphere to produce meteorites on the ground — very spectacular, but nothing of substance survived.

Details for the fireball meteor:

Time: Sunday, Nov. 18, 7:29:25 p.m. EST (6:29:25 p.m. CST)
Speed: 28,400 mph
Direction: Roughly north to south

The fireball appeared 49 miles above the Alabama/Tennessee state line just  north of Athens, Ala. It disintegrated 28 miles above Ole Carriage Dr., just east of Athens. A map of the meteor trajectory appears below.

(Credit: NASA/MFSC/MEO)

This may very well be the brightest fireball we have seen with the Marshall Center camera!