Meteor Shines Bright Before Burning Up

A meteor shining as bright as a first-quarter moon prompted numerous sightings across Tennessee and neighboring states before burning up in the atmosphere above Mississippi on Saturday night, according to NASA.
The object initially was spotted shortly before 9 p.m. as it entered the Earth’s atmosphere southwest of Tupelo, Miss., according to Bill Cooke, with NASA’s office in Huntsville, Ala.
Cooke’s office received reports of the event from locations that included Memphis; Boaz, Ala.; Jackson, Miss.; and Cowan, Tenn.
There were unconfirmed sightings in East Tennessee as well.
The object, estimated to be about 6 inches in diameter and weighing approximately 15 pounds, was detected at an altitude of 45 miles by three NASA meteor cameras located in Huntsville, Tullahoma, Tenn., and Chickamauga, Ga.
The meteor moved northeast at about 54,000 mph before burning up at an altitude of 15 miles.