EAST LANSING, Mich. (WILX) — A meteor in the sky, cruising over Michigan last night. By now you’ve probably seen the videos, maybe even saw the bright flash in person.
Some people were able to capture it on their home security cameras and car dash cams. Social media blew up just minutes after with people trying to get an explanation for what they saw.
News 10’s Chelsea Snyder went to the experts to find out.
The huge flash of light was caused by the meteor exploding once it entered earth’s atmosphere. Craig Whitford, a meteor expert at MSU’s Abrams Planetarium, says the yard-long meteor wasn’t moving very fast,relatively speaking.
“It came it at about 28,000 miles per hour, and in some cases they can come in at 14,000 miles per second. So it actually came in fairly slow,” said Whitford.
Whitford tells News 10 there are three types of meteors, and with the information gathered so far they expect this to be a stony meteorite. Which is actually very common.
The meteor was seen in six states and in Canada. Whitford calls it a special event for Michigan.
“It can happen anywhere. Debris is always falling constantly all day long. An event like this though, our last one was in the late 1990’s, so for Michigan this is a nice event,” said Whitford.
An earthquake was also reported last night during the meteor.
“There are seismic signatures that take place when a meteor enters our atmosphere that can create pressures that buildup and they need to be expended somewhere. And in this case it was a seismic activity that was recorded,” said Whitford.
The meteor is not actually a meteorite until it hits the ground. Nasa says the pieces are scattered between Mid-Michigan and the Detroit area. Nasa also says it’s not radioactive or hot to touch, but if you do find a piece, pick it up with a piece of aluminum to preserve the rock for further research.
Full story can be found at http://www.wilx.com/content/news/Fire-in-the-sky-over-Mid-Michigan-469817183.html
Chelsea Snyder 