American Meteor Society
More than 920 witnesses have reported a large fireball over mid-eastern on January 30th around 6:16pm ET (23:16 UT). The fireball was seen primarily from Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, but witnesses from New Jersey, North Carolina, New York, Delaware, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and even Ontario also reported seeing the fireball.
If you saw this fireball, please report it here.
If you have a video of this fireball, please share it on your free AMS account or contact us using this form.
Below is the witness heat map as well as the estimated ground trajectory of the event:
Below is a video captured on January 30th, 2016 at 6:16PM from a Piper Archer piloted by (©) Mike Grossman (filmed via GoPro, audio is of Laguardia Tower and Provided by LiveATC.net)
Below is a video of the fireball shared with the AMS by (©) Chris Dalton from Gretna, VA – Note that the time stamp is off by one hour.
Here is another video captured from a plane shared by (©) Brandon Jacobsen – “long final approach into runway 25 at Sky Manor (N40)”
Here is another video shared by (©) Alexander Salvador on Youtube
Below is a video shared by (©) Cheapo Findo on Youtube
Below is a dashcam video shared by (©) adrian burns on Youtube. Caught from Lancaster, OH.
We saw the meteorite in Gloucester County, VA on Saturday, January 30 approximately 6:16pm
Saw it for about 3, 4 seconds heading south on the Merritt Pkwy near exit 50 in CT. My son also saw it after I told him when I shouted exitedly “look!!!, look!!!
I live in Erin, NY on January 30, 2016 at around 6:15 and my husband and I saw a fireball in the sky coming down at a 45 degree angle and took approximately 2 -3 seconds to watch it until it disappeared over the hills. It left a plume of smoke in the air for almost 20 minutes before it disappearing.
Saw this over Honey Brook Pa 19344
My family saw the low traveling fireball last night around 6:15-6:30. We live in Mccandless twp (Pittsburgh) ~ the fireball was heading southeast & then broke up. At first we thought it was a shooting star but it was too large, low & bright!
I saw it at 5:29. I live in haverhill mass, could it be the same fireball when people in pa saw it at 6:16?
No
We saw this last night. It was so cool. I really wish there was a video of it breaking up.
I saw it around 6:20p.m 1/30/16 ,fly past Youngstown Warren airport, i was on my way to P.A…It flew right past a plane..
I was pulling out of a gas station near the Watchung circle with my friend and dad when I look up and saw a bright fireball zipped and lit up the night sky and then it disappeared.
I was on my way to work when I saw what looked like a shooting star. It was fast and fabulous. My location was Wooster, Ohio at about 6:16.
Saw the Fireball in North Henrico County at 6:16 pm witnessed it start to break apart at that time
My husband and I saw it from Holly Springs, NC (just outside of Raleigh). So glad we weren’t the only ones!
I saw the meteor in the western part of sky approx 6:15 ish Saturday evening. I then went in house and mentioned to my husband. We were amazed when he heard it on news next evening in DC and Baltimore area. I was in my drive way in West Norriton township ( just west of Norristown). PA.
I had seen the comet several years earlier in my backyard . It was different and very colorful. What I saw this past Saturday appeared to be a basic looking shooting star, except it seemed wider than most I had seen previously and somewhat lower in the sky, or closer to earth.
My two daughters and I saw this also while driving through Honey Brook PA. It was very big and bright. A big thrill to see. I wish I had video.
I saw it around six o’clock last night lasted for about 5 sec, while I was sitting in front of my home in Dolton IL. I’m still shocked cause I never seen anything like it
why did my report disappear off of the map?
Dave,
We had a lot of people report this event as occurring at 6am instead of 6pm (1800). We had to remove all those reports that posted the wrong time, correct the time and then link them with the correct event. Please look again as I am certain that it is still there, now included with all the reports centered at 18:16 EST.
Robert Lunsford
I was at a drive-in movie in Goochland, VA. They had just finished playing David Bowie music videos as a tribute when I saw this streak across the sky, just to the left of the screen. Incredible!
Thank you All: I am so glad I am not the only that saw it. My wife thinks I have been watching too many alien TV programs. I saw it from Berkeley Heights, NJ.
Yes I did see the fireball in Clifton,NJ at 6:16 pm as I was traveling west on Rt. 46. Very cool and in a split second it was gone.
I am from Maryland and I was driving on 270 North probably around exits 8 or 9 when I saw the fireball from my peripheral vision on my right and it came directly in front of me as I was driving on the highway! I saw it for about 4 seconds and it was so clear and bright orange like a real fire it was also very low in the sky! Then it completely disappeared! Amazing experience!!