Fireballs
The American Meteor Society received at least 45 reports of the meteor from as far away as Nova Scotia, Rhode Island and Vermont. Based on the reports, it's likely the fireball entered the atmosphere above the ocean off the coast of Maine at about 8:20 p.m. and streaked northwest above Casco Bay.
A surveillance video captured by a Nest security camera in Rochester submitted by a local user shows a short, bright streak of light in the sky. The submitter said the fireball was accompanied by a loud boom, and an emailer from Strafford told News 9 his house shook after the fireball was seen. Just one of the reports submitted to the AMS indicated that the witnesses hadn't heard any sound.
Gold Coast rapid action patrol police were "shocked to see a meteorite blaze across the sky" while on duty in Surfers Paradise. The meteorite fell over the city about 9.45pm on Monday, leaving a long white tail before disappearing behind buildings.
The senior constable on duty said it was "not a sight you get to see everyday and could not believe the whole incident was captured on his body-worn camera".
The fireball began at an altitude of about 88 km over the south of the province of Cádiz, overflew the western area of the province of Málaga, and ended at a height of around 37 km over the east of the province of Cádiz. This bright meteor was recorded in the framework of the SMART project, operated by the Southwestern Europe Meteor Network (SWEMN) from the meteor-observing stations located at Sevilla, La Hita (Toledo), and La Sagra (Granada).
The event has been analyzed by the principal investigator of the SMART project: Dr. Jose M. Madiedo, from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC).0:35.(Spanish peninsular local time). It could be seen from the southern and central areas of the country.
The incredible sight was recorded at 12.56am by Beswick Avenue resident Tina Williams, 56, who has CCTV installed outside of her apartment.
Video from Tina's CCTV camera captured the moment and can be watched below.
Tina has been "blown away" by the footage.
She said: "I was staying at my boyfriend Lee's place in West Howe when it happened. Lee got up this morning to have a look at my apartment's CCTV footage and when he was watching it, he saw the bright light that appeared.
WATCH: The moment a fireball was spotted flying across Bournemouth in the early hours of this morning. It can be seen from the 9 second mark☄️💫@Bournemouthecho pic.twitter.com/ibT115ZB4J
— Maya (@Echo_Maya) April 20, 2021
People in North Wales have captured this amazing "fireball" effect on camera after spotting the phenomenon in the sky.
Many thought it looked like a comet or solar flare, while others speculated that it might have been visitors from another planet.
Ray Worsnop, a freelance photographer, was able to photograph the phenomenon from his home in Rhyl and posted it on social media.
He wrote: "HELP. Did anyone else witness this as the Sun was setting tonight 16th April 2021? Can anyone explain this please?"
The SMART Project is responsible for running the Network of Bodies and Meteors of Southwest Europe, which closely monitors events of this kind, and the phenomenon was reported at the La Hita Astronomical Complex in Toledo, as well as in Almeria, Granada, Sevilla and Madrid.
No injuries or damage was reported after the loud noise and shaking were felt across portions of south Charlotte shortly after 11 a.m.
WCNC Charlotte Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich was contacted by the Charlotte Fire Department inquiring about the possibility of an earthquake. While Brad did find three seismographs near Charlotte that measured the event, Brad found no evidence of an actual earthquake or other seismic events.
While the origin of the sound is unknown, Charlotte neighborhoods including Myers Park, Southpark, Barclay Downs, and other neighborhoods along Fairview Road, Park Road, Selwyn Avenue, Woodlawn Road, Runnymede Lane and Colony Road reported hearing the sound.
Qian Yuan, Earth scientist at Arizona State University, and his colleagues recently suggested a new line of evidence to support the latter hypothesis, suggesting that Theia not only merged with Earth, but we might know right where the remnants of its mantle reside in Earth.
Giant impact hypothesis
"Compared to the Moon, there is much less [known] about Theia," says Yuan. "The Moon is there. You have samples. People have been there ... few people care too much about the impactor."
A lot of the work around the giant impact hypothesis involves comparing isotopes found on the Moon with those found on Earth. Their similarities in composition suggest that the Moon is made of a hunk of ancient Earth, meaning something like a giant impact knocked it off our Pale Blue Dot.
Original models estimated that the impactor, Theia, was about the size of Mars (half the size of Earth today). Though, some recent studies suggest it might've been more like four times the size of Mars, or roughly the size of the proto-Earth. Either way, most researchers agree that the core — the densest part — of Theia merged with the core of Earth incredibly quickly after the impact, in a matter of hours.
It wasn't even Superman.
A meteor shot across the sky around 10 p.m. Monday.
On social media, residents along the state's Atlantic coast, from West Palm Beach south to Miami, shared videos on Twitter of the surprising sight.
Dashcam footage and security videos showed a still, dark night suddenly lit up by what appeared to be a large fireball streaking diagonally across the sky. In just a few seconds, it was over.