DETROIT.— Experts say a bright light and what sounded like thunder in the sky above Michigan and visible to folks in northern Ohio was a meteor.
Bright Fireball Over Michigan – 355+reports / 3 videos – https://t.co/i91MMH8UFZ #ams #citizenscience pic.twitter.com/cbpyAlTwp9
— AMSMETEORS (@amsmeteors) January 17, 2018
The American Meteor Society says it received hundreds of reports of a fireball Tuesday night over the state, including many in the Detroit area. Reports also came in from several other states and Ontario, Canada.
Some Michigan residents reported their homes shaking.
The society says the reports suggest a space rock penetrated deep into the Earth’s atmosphere before it broke apart. The U.S. Geological Service says it registered as a 2.0 magnitude earthquake in Michigan.
The space rock, known as a bolide, was estimated to be the size of a cargo van, compared with meteors associated with events such as the Perseid meteor showers, which are no bigger than a grain of sand, Michael Narlock, head of astronomy at the Cranbrook Institute of Science, told a Detroit television station.
Bill Cooke with NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office tells The Detroit News it was “definitely a meteoroid” and a rare sight for Michigan.
Other states where people reported seeing a fireball included Illinois, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Missouri.