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Exploding meteor causes a bang over mid-Michigan Longway Planetarium adds meteor discussion to weekend Skies Over Michigan shows
Flint, MI – January 17, 2018 – Last evening, January 16, at 8:08 p.m. a meteor, or bolide (a larger meteor that reaches the lower atmosphere) burned up and fragmented over Michigan. It was seen from as far as six states away and in Canada, and produced a magnitude 2.0 earthquake picked up on area seismographs from the shock wave. Many people in Flint, Grand Blanc and all over Michigan reported seeing it, or seeing the flash as it exploded. The sonic boom of the meteor passing overhead was enough to rattle houses in the region. The spectacle was picked up on a number of cameras; the light from the bolide was picked up on the nest cameras of Longway Planetarium Executive Director and Astronomer Todd Slisher.
Longway Planetarium would love to hear from you if you saw the fireball. Share your stories on Longway’s Facebook page. Starting this weekend, more information will be discussed during Longway Planetarium’s Skies Over Michigan, a live star talk presented every day at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at Longway.org.
Meteors like this are larger than the normal dust grains and small bb-sized meteors that make up the normal “shooting stars” that can be seen on a nightly basis, or during meteor showers. This fireball or bolide was likely basketball sized, or perhaps as large as a beach ball. Larger chunks of space rock can make it deeper into the atmosphere before burning up. Many of them explode like this one did, because the meteor gets so hot, and the more volatile elements expand, shattering the initial rock. These fragments can often make it to the ground in small pieces.
"While this type of event isn’t altogether rare for our planet as a whole, anyone who actually witnessed it in person saw something they probably won’t witness again in their lifetime," Longway Planetarium Manager Buddy Stark said. "It’s thought that this happens thousands of times a year, but because it can happen over oceans or during daylight hours, actually spotting one the moment it happens is a special thing."
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There is much speculation about where the meteor may have come down. From his camera shadows and the sound delay, Slisher made an initial determination that the meteor was crossing East to West, and exploded about 21 miles up and west of his location near the Brighton-Howell area. This was later confirmed by the American Meteor Society, which tracks bolides or fireballs, and uses viewing reports to triangulate their location. They set a likely impact area for small leftover chunks just west of the Howell area.
Almost all meteors contain significant quantities of iron, so if you find a piece you suspect may be a meteoroid (the name for a meteor that has reached the ground) you can do a quick test to determine if it has iron content. Tie a magnet to a string and pass the piece nearby. If it contains iron, it will deflect the magnet. This isn’t proof, as some earth rocks contain iron, as well as pieces of industrial slag, which are often mistaken for meteors. Any suspect rocks can be brought to the Longway Planetarium for further evaluation.
About Longway Planetarium
Together with partner organization Sloan Museum, Longway Planetarium creates engaging experiences with history, science, and technology for the greater Flint and Genesee County community. Longway Planetarium offers shows every day of the week. For complete show times, call (810) 237-3400 or visit Longway.org. Longway Planetarium is located at 1310 E. Kearsley St. Flint, MI 48503. Sloan Museum and Longway Planetarium are member organizations of the Flint Cultural Center Corporation and are supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @SloanMuseum and @LongwayPlanetarium.
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| 1310 E. Kearsley St
Flint, MI 48503 |
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