An asteroid just tore across the North Carolina sky at nearly 47,500 mph before disintegrating over Tennessee.
NASA says the brilliant fireball appeared around 7:45 pm and was captured by four of its all-sky cameras. The object was about two inches wide and weighed roughly six ounces.
NASA first detected the meteor about 53 miles above Robbinsville in western North Carolina.
It traveled southwest at about 21.2 kilometers per second, or 47,500 mph. The fireball eventually broke apart 25 miles above East Ridge, Tennessee, just southeast of Chattanooga.
Despite its small size, the object produced an exceptionally bright flash as it slammed into Earth’s atmosphere at extreme speed.
NASA calculated its brightness at magnitude -6.1, making it substantially brighter than Venus typically appears in the night sky.
The event was officially logged as 20261106-004521 because it occurred at 12:45 am UTC. In North Carolina, however, the fireball first appeared at 7:45 pm.
NASA also confirmed the object was not part of the active Taurid meteor shower.
