Rare daylight fireball over Eastern Cape, South Africa, explosions heard over 200 km (120 miles) away

A very rare daylight fireball was seen and heard over Eastern Cape, South Africa on Sunday, August 25, 2024. Initially thought of as space junk, it was later confirmed to be a car-sized meteor that entered the atmosphere between 06:30 and 07:00 UTC (08:30 and 09:00 LT). Reports of the following sonic boom were heard more than 200 km (124 miles) away from the site of the original sighting.

What was initially thought of as space junk that fell over the Eastern Cape on Sunday was identified as a meteorite by the scientists at Wits University, Johannesburg, and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU).

The meteor entered the atmosphere somewhere between 08:30 to 09:00 LT, according to the Wits University website.

“Based on scientific assessment, the incident is consistent with a rocky asteroid about the size of a car entering Earth’s atmosphere at a very high speed,” said Rager Gibson, a professor at the Wits School of Geosciences.

“We have reports that someone has found several fragments of a meteorite near Kirkwood in the Eastern Cape, over 100 km [62 miles] from Cape St Francis. This may indicate an exceptional fall area,” Gibson added.

According to Gibson, the fireball might have been as high as 30 km ( 18.6 miles) in altitude. This, according to him, could be the reason why the meteor was completely silt for the eyewitnesses.

People reported hearing the meteor’s sonic boom around 200 km (124 miles) away from the original area of sighting. People also reported feeling tremors in the ground due to the meteor.

Videos of the incident shared online showed a bright streak of light over the skies of St. Francis Bay.

Witnesses described a massive blue light streaking overhead. Some of them said it crashed in sea near their boat.

Meteorites are rare in South Africa and only 51 have been recorded so far with the last one being a meteor that fell in Lichtenburg in 1973.

Gibson and Wits colleagues Professor Lew Ashwal and Dr. Leo Vonopartis, together with Dr. Carla Dodd from the Department of Geosciences at NMMU, are extremely interested in learning more about Sunday’s meteorite fall and invite anybody who has seen, heard or found anything that they may suspect of being related to the meteorite event to contact them.

“Some people heard its sonic boom as far away as Plettenberg bay – over 200 km [120 miles] from Gqberha; others felt ground tremors caused by the sonic boom, or actually saw the meteor. We would be extremely interested to hear from any witnesses of this event,” says Gibson.

“This is a perfect opportunity for people to become involved in citizen science. We want to know what people saw or heard so that we can piece together the meteor’s trajectory, and also if anyone thinks they have found any meteorite fragments. We would like people to record their perceptions and contact us to tell their stories.”

Vonopartis advises that before touching the object, one should photograph it on the ground and take several photographs of its environment.

He also suggests recording a GPS pin of the location where it was found, wrapping it in a piece of aluminum foil, and placing it securely in a zip-lock bag, before contacting them to collect it. According to Vonopartis, all of these steps provide vital scientific information.

References:

¹ “Space junk” that fell in Eastern Cape was a car-size meteorite – Wits University – August 26, 2024

Featured image credit: SABC (stillshot)