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Purdue scientist: Meteor confirmed over Bloomington

Scientist: Meteor spotted over Bloomington

BLOOMINGTON, Ind (WISH) — A camera affixed to a Bloomington home recorded a bright flash from a meteor around 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 21.

“I think it was a fireball meteor, which is a very bright meteor that essentially explodes in the atmosphere,” said Dr. Brandon Johnson, an associate professor of planetary sciences at Purdue University.

The meteor spotted in the sky over Bloomington was likely no larger than a baseball and traveled 10 to 20 miles per second. It moved so fast that it caused the sky around it to light up.

The sighting coincides with two major meteor showers taking place now, one lasts until November and the other through December.

“I think it’s probably from one of these meteor showers, which means it’s essentially from debris from a comet, which means it’s icy stuff. (It’s likely that) this got completely vaporized in the atmosphere rather than leaving a meteorite on the ground,” Johnson said.

Although meteor sightings are extremely rare, a large boom heard in Brown, Bartholomew, and Monroe counties in 2022 was later determined to be a meteor.

“Having less light pollution will help you see smaller meteors, but something like this is very bright. If it was cloudy you still might be able to see something this bright happening,” Johnson said.

Johnson said there are only two recorded incidents ever of a meteor hitting someone’s property or hurting them.