An astonishing video of a fireball streaking across the sky above North Carolina was released last week. On Friday, the American Meteor Society shared a video taken from the porch of a home in Rowland Pond, North Carolina, showing a massive fireball fall from the sky. NASA said the fireball fell over the North Carolina coast at around 7:40 p.m. and was one of at least 5 fireballs seen over the US in the same night. Fireballs are bright meteors categorized as brighter than the planet Venus. The nonprofit organization received 148 fireball reports from Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Virginia. The fireball in North Carolina had the largest group of eyewitness accounts, with more than 80 people reporting it. NASA also said that an analysis of these accounts shows the meteor was visible 48 miles above the ocean off Camp Lejeune and soared northeast at about 32,000 miles per hour.
It traveled 26 miles through Earth’s upper atmosphere then disintegrated 28 miles above Morehead City on the coast. Point to be noted that meteoroids usually enter the earth’s atmosphere at 25,000 mph to 160,000 mph but rapidly decelerate as they travel through the atmosphere. The fireball was captured in at least 2 different videos. But the AMS obtained video has gone viral, with nearly 95,000 views. There was a limited chance to view meteors between moonset and the dawn because of the moon phases last week. Moreover, techhound.org also reported that a unit of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Department of the Space Weather Prediction Center issued an alert that a geomagnetic storm is set to hit earth on Sunday, October 3, 2021. They suggested the possibility of moderate-level storm conditions.
A geomagnetic storm is a disturbance of the magnetosphere of the earth and occurs after an exchange of energy from the solar wind into the space environment surrounding the earth. The solar storms can highlight the sky with astonishing aurora-like lights. It can also frequently damage electronics, electrical grids, satellite, and radio communications. The storm can also cause power grid fluctuations, where high-latitude power systems may experience voltage alarms. The SWPC said the geomagnetic storm will primarily affect pole-ward areas of 55 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude. There is also a possibility of satellite orientation irregularities such as increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites. The geomagnetic storm will impact high-frequency radio propagation. The earth has had several geomagnetic storms earlier too. Some storms caused a massive amount of destruction to electrical and communication lines.