A bright fireball was observed across the Midwest and Ontario at 01:31 UTC on March 24 (21:31 LT on March 23), with sightings reported from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Ontario.
The American Meteor Society (AMS) received 145 reports, including 6 videos and one photograph documenting the event.
According to NASA, the fireball was first detected at an altitude of 68 km (42 miles) above the Michigan town of Hope. It traveled northeast at a velocity of 46 500 km/h (28 900 mph) before disintegrating at an altitude of 38 km (23 miles) above Saginaw Bay, just east of Whites Beach.
At peak brightness, the fireball reached a magnitude of −7.7, making it approximately 40 times brighter than the planet Venus.
The object was estimated to be about 10 cm (4 inches) in diameter with a mass of approximately 0.45 kg (1 pound), indicating an asteroidal origin.
Observers reported orange, yellow, and white, indicating the presence of sodium. However, it can also be the result of the low velocity or the atmospheric burnup, as the fireball ionized atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen.
Trajectory reconstruction was based on combined eyewitness reports and data from multiple meteor camera systems, allowing for the determination of the object’s flight path, velocity, and disintegration altitude.
No confirmed reports of damage, injuries, or meteorite recovery have been issued as of March 24. The disintegration occurred at high altitude, reducing the likelihood of surviving fragments reaching the ground.
NASA indicated that the fireball was not associated with any currently active meteor shower, classifying it as part of the sporadic background meteor population.
Multiple fireballs have been reported over the United States over the past three weeks, drawing significant public attention. Among them was an event observed over California, Arizona, and Nevada.
According to Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, spring is fireball season, a period around the vernal equinox when the rate of very bright meteors tends to increase.
“For reasons we don’t fully understand, the rate of very bright meteors climbs 10% to 30% during weeks around the vernal equinox,” Cooke said.
Other notable recent fireballs include the daylight event over the Houston, Texas area on March 21, when a bright meteor broke apart with sonic booms, and a possible meteorite fragment was reported to have struck a house in north Houston.
This followed the March 8 fireball over western Europe, which produced meteorites that damaged residential buildings in Koblenz, Germany. Several fragments penetrated roofs in the city’s Güls district, and meteorites were recovered shortly after the event.
Other notable fireballs from 2026 include the March 17 daytime meteor over Pennsylvania and Ohio, the possible Earth-grazing meteor seen over western Turkey on March 15, the March 3 fireball over the southern United States, the February 11 event over the Indiana-Ohio border region, a long duration fireball over New Zealand’s South Island on Februrary 10, and a bright predawn meteor observed over western China on February 5.
From 2025, two of the most notable cases were the June 26 daylight meteor over Atlanta, Georgia, which damaged a home in Henry County, and the possible first recorded meteorite impact on a moving vehicle, reported in South Australia on October 19.