A special report from Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society
Large fireball over Lake Erie
I just finished posting 342 reports of a large fireball – an exceptionally bright meteor – that occurred over North America near the U.S.-Canada border. It happened at around 7 p.m. EDT (23 UTC) on the evening of October 21, 2024. And the American Meteor Society has received reports! The witnesses range from North Carolina westward to Kentucky, northward to Michigan and eastward to New York.
Fireballs can appear very bright, streaking across a dark night sky. And they’re nearly always unexpected. This one’s computer-generated trajectory was from west to east over Lake Erie, which is the 4th-largest lake by surface area of North America’s five Great Lakes (and the 11th-largest lake globally). The trajectory ended just offshore from Erie, Pennsylvania.
There’s a reason that fireballs are visible from such a large area. That is, they appear at a high altitude of 50 miles (80 km). The Taurid meteor shower is currently active and above the horizon at that time of night. But this fireball was moving in a direction opposite the Taurids. So this event was most likely a random meteor, not associated with any known meteor shower.
Fireballs have been frequent lately. But this is one of the largest events to have occurred recently. If you have witnessed this or any other fireball, we encourage you to share your experience by filling out at Report a Fireball.
Watch the October 21 fireball on video
The American Meteor Society has already received many images and videos of the October 21 fireball. Find more on this page.
Ryan Connor from North Royalton, Ohio, captured the fireball with 2 cameras.
John Oelschlager recorded this video from West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.
Video recorded from Tillsonburg, Canada.
Brad Hague also captured the fireball from Toronto, Canada.
Walter White from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was also suprised by the fireball.
Bottom Line: Witnesses described a large fireball over Lake Erie on October 21. The American Meteor Society had some 350 reports as of this writing. Thousands must have seen it!
Via The American Meteor Society