Massive fireball reported across Midwestern sky

CNN ^ | 04/14/2010 | CNN Wire Staff

[autumnraine]

Authorities in several Midwestern states were flooded Wednesday night with reports of a gigantic fireball lighting up the sky, the National Weather Service said.

The fireball was visible for about 15 minutes beginning about 10 p.m., said the National Weather Service in Sullivan, Wisconsin, just west of Milwaukee.

"The fireball was seen over the northern sky, moving from west to east," said the NWS in the Quad Cities area, which includes parts of Iowa and Illinois.

"Well before it reached the horizon, it broke up into smaller pieces and was lost from sight," the service said. "Several reports of a prolonged sonic boom were received from areas north of Highway 20, along with shaking of homes, trees and various other objects including wind chimes," it said.

It said the fireball was seen across parts of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. CNN affiliate WISN-TV said that people in Ohio also saw it.

[autumnraine]

Someone posted a thread yesterday about a large CME from the sun. Wonder if this has anything to do with this.

[Genoa]

Coronal mass ejection. I had to look it up, though.

[screaminsunshine]

The Mother Ship at last.

[AbeKrieger]

Probably the Russians throwing our stuff out of “their” space station, since the “president” will render us powerless to stop them.

[Genoa]

Reminds me of a roommate I had once.

[Pajama Blogger]

[WayneS]

And my wife even WARNED me not to launch all of those old firworks at once...

Sorry about that!

[WayneS]

...and our little dog, too?

[WayneS]

Separated At Birth?

[tatsinfla]

God firing a warning shot across or bow....

[Moonman62]

The “visible for 15 minutes” statement doesn’t seem right.

[penelopesire]

How do we know it wasn’t AHMANUTJOB in Iran playing with his delivery systems? Would we ever be told if this was the case?

[trad_anglican]

I watched it cruise by my patio doors and then saw a bright, greenish flash after it moved out of my field of view. At first I thought maybe I shouldn’t have had that second beer. Now I feel better.

[camerongood210]

Someone posted a thread yesterday about a large CME from the sun. Wonder if this has anything to do with this.

That was my first thought as well. I also wonder if the headlines on Drudge about volcanic activity/ash have anything to do with the CME.

[Malsua]

There was a dashcam video of a fireball last night...same one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4tbmL_CxXs

[ETL]

Someone posted a thread yesterday about a large CME from the sun. Wonder if this has anything to do with this.

Nothing at all. Two entirely different things.

[Ladysmith]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpRMRM6VtKc&feature=related

Give it a few seconds, pretty cool!

[tuckrdout]

And you just said, “huh?” and went to bed? Is that right?

No climbing in the fallout shelter?

[nagdt]

That’s pretty cool. Looks like a giant meteor.

[mlocher]

Just dollars on their way from your wallet to the US treasury. Happens every year about this time.

[TigersEye]

There was a "live" thread about it last night but apparently no one put any keywords in so I can't find it. Here is another thread about it from this morning though.

Meteor streaks across the (Midwest)region's sky (Video too!)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The ash is from the Iceland Volcanoe/....see this thread:

Iceland evacuates hundreds as volcano erupts again

[Malsua]

That’s pretty cool. Looks like a giant meteor.

Like a direct outtake from Close Encounters. Yeah, pretty cool.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Has anyone seen Dennis Kucinich?

[Bruinator]

From a sherrif’s dashcam. Sitting in the dark was he on a stake out or enjoying some fresh coffee and donuts.

[NaughtiusMaximus]

On a different note, perhaps an A-flat, "sonic booms scare minority groups in Sectors R and S" (and there's hamburger all over the highway in Mystic, Connecticut)...

[righttackle44]

It’s obvious what this was: it was one of the bi-planes that Obama has ordered to protect us from Iranian missiles, going down in flames.

[stars & stripes forever]

My husband and I saw the fireball as we were coming home from church. It looked like a bright star; then it got larger and very bright before it exploded! The whole sky lit up.

It was a magificant sight.

[jakerobins]

Either that or he had the Taco/ Enchilada platter with extra hot sauce like me last night!! LOL

[trad_anglican]

And you just said, “huh?” and went to bed? Is that right?

Pretty much. I think I said "That was cool" and then stuck my head outside to listen for a boom but didn't hear one. Then off to bed.

[dznutz]

I was fishing last night up near the Wisconsin/Illinois border. At first I thought somebody was shining a spotlight from my right side and looked to the Northwest to see a yellow/orange fireball streaking by. It lit up the sky for about 3 or 4 seconds then it disappeared. What a show.

[ScottinVA]

[broken_arrow1]

HOME ELIOT.....

[mowowie]

I was driving over this small bridge one night with my GF when all of a sudden this screaming fast roaring fireball flew right across the front of my car.
We were both like WTF!!!

The next day me and a bud searched the park alongside the bridge but found nothing.
It probably landed in the river.

[Major Matt Mason]

Ben Nelson's political career flaming out?

[occamrzr06]

Swamp Gas!

[Darkwolf377]

a gigantic fireball lighting up the sky

Ted Kennedy's burial capsule re-entering the atmosphere.

[stormer]

No it doesn't. Even 15 seconds would be a long time for a bolide to be visible.

[Big Otto]

I may be wrong, but I don’t ever remember a meteor shower that moved from West to East.
Because of the rotation of the earth, when the earth is passing through a debris field, after nightfall, any meteor appears to move east to west.

I’d bet this was a piece of space junk falling out of a west to east orbit.

[jiminycricket000]

"The fireball was seen over the northern sky, moving from west to east," --- broke up into smaller pieces and was lost from sight," the service said. "Several reports of a prolonged sonic boom were received from areas north of Highway 20, along with shaking of homes, trees---."

That was Barak Hussein Obama's approval rating soaring to Hell in a handbasket.

[zeugma]

BFL, thanks for the link!

[onemiddleamerican]

Is this the thread you were looking for? I only remember this one because it had "Breaking" in the title.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

You Know The Drill
Click the Pic

Hey! FReepers!
Help Fill The Tank!
How About It? Huh?
It Ain't Askin' Too Much
Ya Know....

[TigersEye]

That’s it! Thank you. There were a few FReeper eye witnesses reporting in.

[Ladysmith]

They’re fun! My brother orders them and we’ll set them off from the boat in the middle of the lake at night. :o)

[A Strict Constructionist]

Boy, Mork and Mindy have really changed. It’s uch a shame when you lose you looks along with your mind. Mindy was a babe.

[Las Vegas Dave]

Pinging the unidentified aerial phenomena list..

[happinesswithoutpeace]

/

[GOPJ]

Thanks for the ping. Anyone going with space junk?

[GOPJ]

The “visible for 15 minutes” statement doesn’t seem right.

Drudge has different video cams catching the show - that might be where the time estimates came from...