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Bright Light, Sonic Boom As Likely Meteor Streaks Across Southern Michigan

The suspected space rock punched through the clouds near Detroit just after 8 p.m. with a boom that shook houses and registered magnitude 2.0 on U.S. Geological Survey instruments.

By  Scott Neuman
   
SHARE Bright Light, Sonic Boom As Likely Meteor Streaks Across Southern Michigan

Michigan residents got a surprise Tuesday night when a suspected meteor punched through the clouds with an explosive flash. It was powerful enough to register on seismic instruments.

About 8:05 p.m. ET, dashcams and security video caught the object as it streaked toward a northern suburb of Detroit, not far from the Canadian border. The U.S. Geological Survey, which has labeled it a meteorite impact, says it measured magnitude 2.0 on the agency’s instruments and hit about 5 miles west northwest of New Haven.

Social media postings indicate that it was seen as far away as Traverse City and Chicago. Some reported homes shaken by the explosion.

Although it is not possible to immediately verify the video, it appears that several posted on Twitter were of the same event seen from different locations.

You can see more at Twitter hashtag #meteor.

Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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