A HUGE fireball (meteor) appeared over Jinghong city, China yesterday, June 1 (13:40 UT)! Sonic booms were reported, indicating the fireball likely penetrated lower than 30 km and quite possibly dropped meteorites!Local Chinese news outlets report that the phenomenon was seen from Simao, that it was very bright, lasted about 2 seconds and was accompanied by two loud noises - presumably sonic booms. One Mr. Zhou from Dongfeng, Jinghong, heard the noise from inside his home.
Video: Xiao Jia Gong Gong via @Exos Citizen Science
Director of the Xishuangbanna State Seismological Bureau, Ma Zhengyin, told Yunnan reporters that its seismic detectors remained stable, so it appears that no disturbance was captured on their instruments. However, responding to the citizen report, Bureau staff confirmed that at around 10pm local time on June 1st 2018, there was clearly a noticeable streak in the sky, and a great noise following the light's disappearance, and that the meteor seems to have fallen to the west, at a 70 degree angle to the ground - a common incoming trajectory, they say, for meteorites. That said, the Director also said he cannot be absolutely sure of any connection.
Other witnesses reported that the fireball "looked as big as the sun." The curator of Beijing planterium reported it "looked like a meteor."
Researcher at the Yunnan Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wang Xiaobin, is reported to have said that he also cannot be sure it was a meteor because the video is short and there is no obvious path, so for him, it's difficult to confirm.
Given that 3 videos have apparently been submitted as evidence, the reported booms and noted angle of entry, some are confident that meteorites will have made it to the ground - so the hunt is on.
In the video posted below, the photographer can be heard exclaiming "What is this?!"
According to the Daily Mail, just 5 days ago, also in China, another meteor fireball was reported: 'Meteor explodes as it flashes across the sky over China'
Here are some other meteor fireball reports from around the world in the last month:
- Bright meteor fireball observed over Brazil
- Meteor fireball over the Mediterranean Sea
- Meteor fireball seen in skies above Fredericksburg, Virginia
- Meteor fireball captured in Tucson, Arizona sky
- Fireball? Unexplained boom, flash of light recorded on Ohio home security camera
- Space rock? Loud house-shaking boom heard in southern California
- Asteroid 3 times larger than Chelyabinsk making close approach...
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