American Meteor Society
Erratum: the previous article stated only one major fireball were witnessed on May 15 – it looks like there were 2 of them…
2 large fireballs were seen and reported by many witnesses on May 15th 2014.
The first one was seen primarily from Georgia but witnesses from South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee and other states also reported seeing it (May 15th 2014, 9:38pm EDT – May 16th 2014, 1:38pm UT).
Below is a map of the estimated trajectory of this fireball (#AMS 1127-2014), based on the witness reports submitted so far.
AMS Event 2014-1127 – Trajectory
The second fireball was seen primarily from Kentucky and Ohio but witnesses from West Virginia, Indiana and other states also reported seeing it. (May 15th 2014, 10:15pm EDT – May 16th 2014, 2:15pm UT).
Below is a map of the estimated trajectory of this fireball (#AMS 1126-2014), based on the witness reports submitted so far.
AMS Event 2014-1126– Trajectory
If you saw one of this fireball, please fill out an official fireball report with the AMS. To learn more about fireball meteors read our Fireball FAQ.
We encourage witnesses who saw this fireball to also download the AMS Mobile App for iPhone or Android and submit an enhanced fireball report using your mobile device. The data we can collect from the mobile App is more accurate and allows us to determine the velocity of the fireball. If you already submitted a web based report, please also complete the mobile report.
Video from NASA camera at North Georgia College – Bill Cooke/NASA – AMS Event 2014-1127
Mt. Hope, WV. We heard the boom and the house shook at 10:17pm on May 15, 2014. Did not see fireball, but we were not outside.
I saw it and heard it. I live in Beaver, West Virginia. Me and my dog Brandie was sitting on the couch watching tv when we herd the big boom we both looked at the window and saw a big bright flash of light. I just thought it was lighting and thunder so I just swept it off. well the next morning as usual I go and check my facebook. well I saw a post about it so I thought ok maybe it was; well I keep scrolling and then I saw another post about, then read the comments on it. It was a meteorite that hit our atmosphere which is what caused the big loud boom and the flash of bright light. Now it think it is crazy hearing about it but at the same time it sounds scary. I got to see a scientific fact that I was taught in school about meteorites. That’s Awesome!!!!!
I was laying in bed looking out at the sky and saw the “fireball” heading North it seemed to me. I was shocked this morning when no mention of it was made on the local radio station. I believe it was between 10 – 10:30pm..
i heard it last night on the 15th i thought it was the highwall mining blastin up above my house,,,but it was too long of a sound to be a blast,,,went out and never seen it though just heard it and it was a lil creepy
My dad seen and heard it in Dorothy, Wv. It was after 10 pm but before 10:30 pm.
Saw the fire red glittering ball around 10:00 p.m. EDT in Englewood, OH last night, May 15th, with sparkling tail trailing behind it, but did not hear any boom. Was in my car alone on SR-48, near I-70 ramp, and it was a beautiful sight, appearing just below the bright, full moon. I completed the AMS online report with details. I’ve never before spotted anything like this but knew it had to be a meteor, falling star or comet of some type.
I live in Logan, wv……..RR.5 harts creek rd…….it was cloudy n couldnt see but the boom was so loud it shook my house n windows……hard enough to think it was a blast…..we have coal mines behind us n I have herd n felt those alot but they never made my windows shake like this did……and never that loud either…..
Was driving home last night around 10:30 near Glen Daniel WV. I saw the sky light up. At first I thought it was lightning but the flash lasted longer than usual lightning. It seemed like it got brighter before it was dark again. I guess about a minute later as I was getting out of my vehicle I heard the boom. It was so loud that I felt the concussion from it
i live in mullins and we where watching tv and it shook the whole house it done the same thang to my neighbers house.. we all walked outside
I was driving south on I-65 through Louisville, KY right next to the fairgrounds. The tender, red moon was resting softly above the horizon. Underneath the moon were crystal clear clouds, lined with blue moonlight. Suddenly from out the top of my driver’s side window a brilliant spectacle began. A white yellow ball of fire trailed by a bright green firework-y trail lit up the sky and went just slightly left of the moon on the horizon. I will say that as far as natural phenomena goes, this is absolutely #1. WOW. Pardon the somewhat sarcastic description, but it was really amazing. I am so glad other people saw it. It was a real show. No dashcam video unfortunately 🙁
We live in Carolina Beach and hear Sonic Booms quite frequently. . They rock the windows they are so loud sometimes. They have said what we are hearing g are called ‘Seneca guns’.
possible meteor fireball at 12:34am saturday may 17 2014 central indiana. at 12:32am i observed two meteors moving NE to SSW followed by a large flash of blue light. the light was bright enough to turn off street lights seconds later a large boom followed setting off numerous car alarms followed by 2 or 3 less intense booms. was there a heat signature at this time over indiana?
I live in Sophia , wv I heard a big boom st 9:38 pm but didnt see a light or flash I was inside.
I was sitting on my couch & heard a loud boom & my house shook I thought that something had exploded near by Now everyone is saying it was a fireball or meteor I wish I could have saw it that would have been neat to see
I was sitting on my back porch and witnessed the object , which appeared to be a large white light, fall from the sky. From my home, it was in the East. It fell very quickly and as it reached the horizon, I witnessed a large red explosion flash that lit up the sky momentarily. The time it fell was approx. 9:05 Central Time or 10:05 Eastern Time. Within 5 minutes I reported it to the Kentucky State Police Post in Bowling Green, KY. The whole thing happened so quickly, that if a person wasn’t looking in the direction of it, they would have missed it. There was no observed sound or movement here from it. It was interesting that it had no fiery tail….as many do. I still have a problem accepting that it was a meteor.
I live in South Florida. It happened so fast; I thought it was a shooting star. This was my first time seeing this kind of movement in the sky.
I thought a car hit my house.BOOM! Nothing was found.lt was around 10 15pm.Southwest suburb Chicago, Il.
I’m in Atlanta/Dunwoody. I witnessed the magnificent event. It was around 9:30, give or take a few. What I saw was white with a very long tail. It was big! I couldn’t believe it! I was facing East/Northeast. It was going North/Northwest. Happy I happened to see it. To me, it didn’t go by fast or slow. It was like a shooting star magnified by 1000.
PS, didn’t hear anything.
I saw the sky light up just before 10pm on May 15th from inside my house in Lizemores, WV. At first I thought it was lightening but it lit up the sky longer than lightening does and after about 10-15 seconds I saw what I thought was a flash of lightening. I was on my land line phone talking to my friend and when the flash happened and my phone died suddenly. A short time later I heard a boom! I’ve heard other people reporting that their electric or tv satellites lost service like my phone did. Anyone know if this it typical with a meteor?
I saw an actual shooting star may 15 I was working on the car with my dad and I saw it go straight across the sky and directly over my house.
I reported a comet looking shooting star that was bright white in Augusta Georgia May 15th 2014 had no sound moving extremely rapidly paced
My son and his friends were driving in Buford GA and they all witnessed it around 9:30 or 10:30 pm. He said it was bright white, tear drop shaped and moving very very rapidly and that he watched it burn out quickly.
On the night of mat 15, 2014, at approximately 10:10 pm MST, Goodyear Arizona. I stepped outside and witnessed a very large object transiting the sky from west to east. Low on the horizon to overhead within 6-7 seconds. The object was not inside our atmosphere, nor emitting light. It was illuminated by the sun as would be a satellite or the moon. This object then passed into the Earth’s shadow and was no longer visible. The color was a full amber and appeared fuzzy and seemed to have rotation and as it came directly overhead, surface features became visible. There is no doubt in my mind this was an enormous asteroid many miles in diameter passing in very close proximity to earth, within 500 miles. There is another person who witnessed the exact same thing, however he lives in southern California and I have never met this person. He recounted his sighting on a call in radio show. I’ve made inquiries to NASA and they are intrigued until I noted the date and time, to which they immediately stop communicating with me. I believe my sighting is remotely related to the fireballs in the prior reports for this date, although they are a few hours apart.