A bright object, visible as it streaked across the midday sky, was reported falling in the southeastern United States on Thursday.
Authorities believe the object was likely a meteor or space debris. The National Weather Service office reported that most sightings of the light streak and fireball came from Georgia and South Carolina.
In Henry County, Georgia, one resident reported a rock penetrating their roof at approximately the same time they heard a sonic boom associated with the fireball.
According to the weather service, the impact created a hole roughly the size of a golf ball in the ceiling and a crack in the laminate flooring.
Emergency services are investigating the object, which landed approximately 25 miles southeast of Atlanta.
Dashboard cameras and doorbell cameras across several southeastern states captured glimpses of the apparent fireball plummeting earthward.
The American Meteor Society received reports from over 140 individuals in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee.
Meteors and other space debris frequently enter the Earth’s atmosphere, but it is unusual for an object to be bright enough to be easily seen during daylight hours.
These bright fireballs are a result of the intense friction generated as an object enters the atmosphere and rapidly decelerates. NASA reports that almost all such objects disintegrate into tiny fragments before hitting the ground.
