American Meteor Society
The American Meteor Society has received over 125 witness reports about a large fireball spotted over central texas.
Click the map below for an interactive witness map for this event. After the map loads, click the icons for the people to see their report. Green lines mean where they first saw it and yellow lines mean where they last saw it.
Texas Fireball - February 1st, 2012
For alternate views of this event, looking at the maps with more experienced observers.
Observer Level #2 Witness Map – More experienced observers
Observer Level #3 Witness Map – More experienced observers
Observer Level #4 Witness Map – Most experienced observers
We will continue to update this post as more information becomes available. The fireball has been caught on at least two cameras at this point. Here is a video from Oklahoma City by James Beauchamp.
A news story with another all sky camera picture.
From Euless Texas, I was outside on my porch and saw the object fly over my apartment building. It was the most beautiful colors of blue and orange, white and rounded on the front, with the colors trailing behind. It was very, very bright, not lighting the sky, but difficult to look directly at. The trails were short, and did not last, but it was traveling slow and steady, not coming down with gravity, but across. In my line of view, I had a full 15 seconds of viewing. I never heard a boom but I did mark a noticeable smell of sulfur shortly after my sighting. It seemed close, as far as maybe a helicopter would be traveling. I ran out my front door to see if I could catch it on the other side, but it was already gone by the time I got out there. I am curious to have more information, I find it hard to believe this is a meteor based on the speed of travel, the direction of travel, and how steady it was. My guess initially was a ball of gassy fire seeing as how it seemed to defy gravity.
What you saw was indeed a meteor. I live off of Trinity Blvd betwen precinct line road and Trinity it went directly over my street as I was talking to my father in law. We watched it fly right over us towards the locations of HIghway 10 and 360. Right around 360 is where it started to break apart. About 90 seconds after we heard the sonic boom.
Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnduIL0rtGY&feature=youtu.be
I live in Bedford Texas dfw area and this bright meteor flew right over my head lighting the whole area up it was so close and then I witness it break in pieces it look to be a mile away then I heard a boom. All I can say it was the coolest little event I’ve ever witness I just can’t believe how close it was pretty cool. If you have any questions you can email me at maximo8869@yahoo.com
Saw the meteor around 8:00 pm, Traveling from left to right so moving East. Looked big to me – as if holding a nickel at arms length. Bright blue green. Event lasted about 8 seconds. The meteor fell in an arc and disappeared behind the trees as if had hit the ground. Much larger than any shooting star I’ve ever seen.
I witnessed a large fireball at 7:57 PM Wednesday, Feb. 1. I was driving due south on Highway 15, 10 miles north of Newton, Kansas. It started about 30 degrees to the west of the highway and 30 degrees above the horizon, and ended about 30 degrees to the east of the highway at the ground level. At first I thought was an airplane coming in to the Newton airport which appeared to be in the location the fireball ended, but it was moving much faster and became very bright and large as it crossed above the highway. Never seen anything like that before – an incredible sight.
It was so incredible to see in person! This morning I looked up to see if I could find more info & I found this video (from DFW NBC). The meteor was caught on a police cruiser dashboard camera. You may have already seen it, but I thought I would share it just in case. http://www.nbcdfw.com/weather/stories/Meteor-Streaks-Across-North-Texas-Sky-138539909.html
I live in Denver City & I saw a bright orange light fall East of town. It was falling from South to North.
Glad to find out what I saw last night. Out walking the dog @ 7:56 pm(Sun City, Georgetown, TX) and I saw the meteor flying through the sky and eventually dissappearing behind the landscape. Did not hear any sound. Large, oblong, blue, green, silver with red orange sparks shooting out the back. So glad I got to witness the meteor. Incredible!
Didn’t see it, but saw a bright white flash reflected off our neighbor’s house, followed by a loud “Boom!” a few seconds later. We thought it was our neighbor shooting fireworks! Quickly realized it WASN’T fireworks when the sound rattled the house….
Am curious to know if any fragments have been located. Would love to know more about our “visitor” last night!
I was visiting a friend and he told me about a meteor that landed somewhere around you. Where do you live.
Doesn’t this seem very similar to what happened in Feb of 2009? That also was explained as a natural meteor and not a satelite crash. I guess Texas must be a ‘hot-bed’ for these types of events…or, Houston, do we have a problem?
I have a completely different story, from what I saw and the denton police officer standing next to me. This “meteor” was at about 100 feet altitude just over the apartment buildings in front of cross timbers church in the denton square. It looked to be moving at a very slow rate of speed and had had a greenish glow to it. It had a green tail very similar to a meteor, I had my camera around my neck and I raised it up to take a picture but it went out of view behind the building. I ran over to the side of the building to get the shot but it disapeared. It was a unidentified flying object, definitively not a meteor as reported on the news. I’m not sure what it was but it was breath takingly close to us.
Your version is what my cousin witness in OKC. He said it was a huge bright green ball that descended then moved across. It was already in our atmosphere moving not very fast he watched it at least 10sec. He saw no tail just a huge ball that did not appear to be on fire but just glowing bright green. Its believed to have crashed in Kaufman county TX and thats where I live and I didnt hear or feel anything. I believe the first story out that it just went off in space and never crashed.
Fireball Report
Date: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 19:56:00 CST
Name: Joe Harris
Location: Fort Worth, TX, 76116 United States
Observer Experience: 4
Looking Direction: 295.04183532267075
Moving Direction: DownLeftToUpRight
Point 1: AZ: 272.230691, Alt: 20
Point 2: AZ: 100.743108, Alt: 20
Magnitude:
Brightness: 0
Duration: 2-5
Color: White
Train: Yes
Duration: 4, Color: golden, Length:
Train Comments :
Concurrent Sound: Yes
Delayed Sound: Yes
Sonic Remarks: double boom 4 minutes later.
Remarks: This report was relayed to me from Charley Brown in Coppell,Texas.
Bolide Notes: Broke into two chucks with other smaller pieces.
I live in Runaway Bay, Tx . I concur with this observation. Passed overhead at the one o’clock position from my location. Carl Smith
I saw the fireball East in the sky out my window while sitting at the computer. It shocked me to see it and I hollered for my wife to come and look, but it was gone..I saw it only about 2 seconds.
I saw the meteor at 7:56 pm at the corner of Stuebner-Airline and FM 2920 in Spring, Texas. I thought it might be a plane going down at first because I was not far from a local airport. The meteor was definitely North of my location, heading west to north west.
That should be east to north east.
WHY is it that there was no follow up story on the news???????? I know that thing had to land somewhere! They can’t keep everyone quiet! I just want to know where it landed. Thanks I hope no body was hurt.
Anne, I think it burned out before hitting the round. When I saw it from the Austin, Tx area, it suddenly went out like blowing out a match. Like you, I was waiting for someone to tell us where it hit. Some people in the Dallas area reported a loud thud and some described it as a loud boom. The Austin news reported one person here planning to go the Dallas area to see if it actually landed somewhere there.
Saw the meteor last night from Belton, Tx on our porch facing north. We were already looking that direction because two helicopters (either Apaches or Blackhawks) were flying north over our house. They continued north and when they were about 2 miles north of the house, the meteor came from west to east.. Because of the position of the helicopters in relation to the meteor from our point of view, initial thought for a split second was that the helicopters were shooting at something. Color was blue at first, then turned orange and yellow, then white. There were other burning pieces falling off of it, and the whole thing seemed to happen in slow motion. By far the slowest, brightest, and longest lasting meteor I’ve ever seen. Looked like it burned out before it hit the ground. Did not notice any noise associated with it. It was WAY better in person than that police dash cam video!!!
I live in Temple Texas and I went to a friends house and looked in a field and I think I FOUND A piece of it. Nice fusion crust, and has all crystals all over the meteorite is 1814.4 grams and I think it is a Martian Mars Basalt shergottite,looks like shock crystals,and Nakhlite or Tissint, olivine I have some really good pictures
At approximately 7:55pm, we were traveling on FM306 towards Canyon Lake, TX. Approximately 1 mile before Purgatory Rd, we saw the meteor cross low in the sky directly in front of us. It was traveling from the southwest to northeast. It appeared to glow very bright white with a green trail. The trail was not very long and at times seem to disappear, then resume again. It moved fairly fast and seemed to suddenly end and drop out of sight. The encounter lasted about 15-20 seconds. Amazing sight!
I was gathering up my soccer gear from a long night of soccer practice in Pflugerville, Texas. I heard one of my teammates gasp and turned around to see a beautiful object/star/meteor/space junk/asteroid/ball of gas drag across the sky. The ball itself was changing from neon green to lightning yellow and had a tail-like streak that changed from orange to red to green to yellow. I only saw it for about 5-7 seconds though. I wish I could see it again!
Was driving home from church with my oldest son and saw it very clearly pass over FM 306. We were about 4 miles from I35 heading west towards Canyon Lake At one point it seemed to “blow up” or maybe break apart and leave a bit of a trail. If it was a meteor, it was the biggest I’ve every seen with the naked eye! Very neat to see!
I was in Baytown Texas went out to my car was around 8 pm I noticed a Bright green ball in the sky I was looking at it and then I saw red strikes Im guessing Fire and I though it was going pretty fast, I thought it was a plane falling from the sky.
My daughter and I were at church with a large youth group playing kickball in Lake Dallas. The meteor went right over the top of us. It was low enough and bright enough to not only catch everyones attention immediately, but the light it emitted brightened the entire ball field we were playing on as it passed. It appeared from my perspective to be no more than a few hundred feet above us before it burned out just to the east of us. The flight path was west to east.
I was on my phone on my front porch in Waco, Texas and talking on my cell phone when I saw what I thought was a shooting star. But it looked so close, and I thought maybe it was fireworks. But it burned white with a trail like a firework, and then it turned yellow and burned out. So freaking cool. My friend on the phone also saw it! Awesome
My husband and I were driving north on a highway in Austin, TX when I saw the large fireball go across our field of vision from left to right (west to east). It happened at 7:57pm on Feb. 1st. It went across the sky at a 45 degree angle. I could not believe what I was seeing – it was so big and bright. It only lasted about 10-15 seconds but I will never forget it. It was an amazing site! Wow…
Yesterday i was driving down hunt lane and marbach in san antonio id seen a comet i have never seen sumthing like dat as a matter of fact i woke watchin nat geo thy wer talkin about how a meteor travel frm tha begening of tha solar system is breaking i thought about this comet it seemed if like it landed by john jay high school. This was huge it flash and came glowing green bright with like fire, it look like it was going out becuase it had a trail of like fog or smoke.. tha back look like coals burnin out. It was crazy.. i thought about it all night.. i saw it traveled for about 20to30seconds. i hope i kan help anyone who reads this..i would love to knw more about it..i belive frm wer i was at and looking at it i say it landed here in texas if am in san antonio rite in middle it looked like it landed between using a clock as texas i say between 10 and 11 o clock..not time but in between those numbers i hope scieniest kan read this and use my sighting for something good..
I happend to see this Wed. night from my home in Euless, it was travelling west to east and was just to the south of directly overhead when I spotted it. It was greenish and about pinky (at arms length) sized (length & width). I watched it head eastward, losing brilliance as it travelled, I was able to see it until it extinguished, about 20-30 degrees above the horizon to the east.
I was sitting outside close to Colleyville, when I looked up and at first thought it was a firecracker until I realized it was way too big. It was very close. To me it seemed to be at the same level as a 5 story building. The front was oval shaped with bright red and orange illuminating off of it with a greenish tail that followed. I saw it for a good 5 seconds before it disappeared.
I saw it too while I was driving north on 281. I live about 30 miles North of San Antonio in the hill country. It was an amazing sight. I could not believe how fast and low it was. It looked like it was moving downward as it changed color moving across the sky. I was preplexed and could not believe it. I am so glad to find it mentioned here as I was well aware that it was not fireworks, but did not know what else it could be.
I was in my yard facing south. Suddently the sky turned white and when I looked up there was something in the sky. It looked very close and at first I thought it was a low flying aircraft. It was going east at what seemed like a fairly slow speed. I watched it for a few seconds as it headed to an area north of downtown Dallas. The next day I looked at the internet and realized what it was. I had never seen anything like it and I am 76 years old. It reminded me of aircraft that I have seen as they were crashing.
My experience seems to be a little different than what I have read. I was in my Wylie, Texas backyard. I saw a bright light in the sky. At first I thought it was the headlights of an airplane. Then it got brighter. Next I could see that it was shaped like a flashlight going straight up and down. The wide side of the flashlight shaped object was going east over Dallas. The brightest lights that I have ever seen flashed down and another light flashed west. The lights were clear and very bright. The lights pointing down looked like a searchlight. The lights lasted at least a full second. Then it burnt up. As it burnt up you could see that it was made up of three orange balls, one on top of another. Then it disappeared from view. The total time now was just a few seconds. A few minutes later there was a loud sound, then later another sound. I thought it might of hit something.
I didn’t see it here in Forney, TX. Instead my son and I were working on homework and had the television muted. We paused to think over a Math problem and we heard a huge thud. Trying to rationalize it, we thought someone was breaking into the house. We quickly ran out the front door and checked the side of our house exposed to the street.and could find nothing. We came back inside and the only thing I could think of was that a dead tree limb fell and slammed on top of the roof on its way to the ground. I was going to check it out in the morning when I heard about the meteorite and sonic boom from the news. Time matched that in which we heard the large thud.
I was sitting on the couch watching tv when I saw a blue ball with flames going down thru the window, it looked very closed. It was north of my house which is about 6 miles NW of Evant, TX
I was driving north bound on Capitol of Texas Highway @ about 8:00 pm when I saw it streak across the sky. It was the closest and longest meteor I’ve ever observed.
I was in my car a couple of minutes before 8pm, Wed., 2/1/2012 on Dessau Road in Pflugerville,Tx and saw a bright orange, red and yellow ball of fire with a trailing tail falling very rapidly from West to East at a 45 degree angle. I could have sworn it would impact a mile or two in front of me and was waiting for some boom or explosion when after about 10 seconds, it suddenly disappeared. At first I kept sayin out loud repeatedly..”What is that?” I was both amazed and frightened and looked around to see if anything else was falling. It was quite spectacular and like nothing I had ever seen in my lifetime. I stopped at a station at Parmer and Dessau and a young man came in very excited asking if anyone had seen the meteorite. I shared my excitement since I was the only one in the store who had seen it. The young man and I surmised it must have burned out before hitting the ground. A once in a lifetime experience.
Added the video back online for all to see. THE best footage yet of the 2-1-12 meteor..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8juQ_ld_G7U
I was hunting hogs that night in a open costal field in eulogy tx when the night turned to day. I looked p in aww as a giant ball of fire flew through the sky directly over head. The mediorite came from the south west and was travling northeast. about four min. later i heard a fant boom! they say it didnt land in texas but i am almost sure that it had too.
I was driving from San Antonio to Austin and I saw the object in the sky. It was blue and green and feel at a slow speed compared to any shooting star i’ve seen. As it approached the what seemed to be the ground it sped up and disappeared into the distance. It was amazing but scary at the same time. It was definitely not a meteor.
In Northwest Austin Sat April 28 Fireball Filmed on camera.
Does anyone know where it landed?