A bunch of music fans at an outdoor concert for the group Mumford & Sons were treated to quite a sight earlier this week. The concert was being held at an outdoor amphitheater in Pelham, Alabama – about 20 miles south of Birmingham. NASA says that at about 8:18 PM central time on Monday a giant meteor entered the Earth’s atmosphere above the state.
According to NASA, the meteor was traveling at 76,000 mph and 3 seconds after hitting the atmosphere it disintegrated at an altitude about 25 miles above Woodstock, Alabama. Because of the speed the meteor was traveling at, it created sonic booms that were heard by witnesses on the ground.
Witnesses at the concert also report seeing a really bright flash of light in the sky. Astronomers say that the flashes were bright enough to be 15 times brighter than Venus in the nighttime sky. The fireball was reportedly as bright as the crescent moon on Monday night.
[via Washington Post]
