The American Meteor Society has
received reports of a bright fireball meteor being seen over the
southwestern United States slightly before 5.15 pm local time on Sunday 24 December
2017 (slightly before 1.15 am on Monday 25 December GMT). People have reported
seeing the event from California, Arizona and Baja California (Mexico),
with the majority of sightings coming from California. A fireball
is defined
as a meteor
(shooting star) brighter than the
planet Venus. These are typically caused by pieces of rock burning up in
the atmosphere, but can be the result of man-made space-junk burning up
on re-entry. The object was seen moving from northeast to southwest
over the eastern
part of the state.
Fireball over southern California on 24 December 2017. American Meteor Society.
Objects
of this size probably enter the Earth's atmosphere several times a
year, though unless they do so over populated areas they are unlikely to
be noticed. They are officially described as fireballs if they produce a
light brighter than the planet Venus. It is possible, though unlikely,
that this object will have produced meteorites that reached the surface
(an object visible in the sky is a meteor, a rock that falls from the
sky and can be physically held and examined is a meteorite), though most
meteorites come from larger objects that penetrate further into the
atmosphere before exploding, and therefore have a better chance of
producing fragments that reach the surface.
Map
showing areas where sightings of the meteor were reported, and the
route of the object (blue arrow). American Meteor Society.
See also...
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