Daytime Fireball Over Tewksbury Country Club Wednesday Was Likely A Meteorite Strike

TEWKSBURY, MA -- If you were in Tewksbury Wednesday afternoon around 3 p.m., you weren't imagining things. That was most likely a meteorite that you saw burst into flames in the vicinity of the Tewksbury Country Club. While the American Meteor Society has yet to verify yesterday's meteor over Tewksbury, there were more than 30 reported fireball sightings in Connecticut and several more in Massachusetts, including Waltham.

Already the society, which tracks fireballs that form when meteors burn upon hitting the earth's atmosphere, has confirmed 136 fireball sightings on Wednesday over the northeast. "The fireball was seen primarily from New York and New Jersey, but was also seen from Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland and New Hampshire," the society said.

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The American Meteor Society posted this video on its Website, showing a fireball over Long Island Wednesday that was similar to the one reported over Tewksbury:

Meteors pelting the earth's atmosphere are a common occurrence, with thousands big enough to create fireballs doing just that every single day. But what made Wednesday's sightings so rare is that meteors have to be especially bright to be seen during daylight hours. To be seen in daylight a meteor must be brighter than about magnitude -6 to be noticed in a portion of the sky away from the sun.

There could be more sightings in the coming days, and look for a nighttime light show in the coming days as the Orionid meteor shower occurs. The shower is actually occurring because the earth is passing through "cosmic crumbs" leftover from Halley's Comet, which was last visible with the naked eye from earth 30 years ago (see image above). The shower varies in intensity each year, but this year's show -- a preview of which Tewksbury residents got yesterday -- is supposed to be better than average.

If you missed Wednesday's fireball, don't worry: the shower will peak this weekend and clear skies, coupled with a new moon, will offer ideal viewing conditions throughout the northeast. Astronomers are expecting between 20 and 30 sightings per hour during nighttime viewing hours this weekend.

Photo by NASA

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).