A bright meteor illuminated the night sky over sections of North Carolina and Tennessee on Thursday night, traveling at a velocity of 47,000 miles per hour, according to NASA. Astronomers classify an especially bright meteor as a fireball, a phenomenon visible across wide regions due to its stark appearance.
NASA reported that the space rock ultimately disintegrated above a city near Chattanooga. Specialized regional imaging systems, known as sky cameras, captured the event on video. Space agency officials utilized footage collected from cameras stationed at the Tellus Science Museum located in Cartersville, Georgia, alongside devices positioned in Huntsville, Alabama, Tullahoma, Tennessee, and one additional location.
