15 April 2010

Wisconsin Iowa Large Meteor Fireball - Bolide 14APR2010



















Large Meteor! Wisconsin Iowa Bolide Fireball 14APR2010

(click on image to view fireball)
image source:
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
http://www.aos.wisc.edu/
Looped image of fireball.

If you landed on this page please click on the image of the Moon in the header to get to the latest post; thank you!

Reports of large bolide with booms seen in Wisconsin and Iowa. More details as they are reported. Any eyewitnesses please post a comment. State you city or location , what YOU saw or heard. ANY PHOTOS OF the event? PLEASE email me.
My email address is drtanuki@gmail.com if you wish to contact me.

updates in the news:

Madison Meteor?

WKOW-TV.com
27 News Chief Meteorologist Bob Lindmeier says it is possible a large meteor passed through the area, but it's hard to know exactly what caused the bright ...
Did You See the Light Show Wednesday Night?

WSAW
The National Weather Service is reporting it was either a meteor or space debris. It was apparently seen as far away as Kansas City. ...
"Giant Fireball" Lights up the Night Sky

KCRG
The meteor burning through the atmosphere appeared to be a “giant fireball” and reports have been coming into the KCRG-TV9 newsroom from viewers across ...

Meteor Lights Up The Night

KIMT
Around 10:00 tonight numerous people reported seeing what is more than likely a meteor that flew across the Midwest. The reports are very consistent that a ...
Apparent meteor shoots through Wisconsin sky

Madison.com
An apparent meteor — or possibly a piece of space junk — shot through and illuminated the night sky Wednesday, spurring dozens of people to flood the Dane ...
Meteor passes BN?

Bloomington Pantagraph
It likely was a meteor because there were no indications of aircraft in trouble, according officials at Peoria International Airport's control tower. ...
Possible Meteor Siting over West Michigan

WZZM
A possible large meteor siting occurred over West Michigan late Wednesday evening. Calls to the WZZM 13 Information Center started around 11:10 pm with the ...
Rock River Valley residents see possible meteor

Rockford Register Star
Their best guess was it was meteor.” National Weather Service meteorologist Nathan Marsili said the streak or flash of light was visible from southwest ...
Spectacular light trails reported in west sky

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Jesse Garza of the Journal Sentinel Stargazers were treated to a spectacular display of light trails Wednesday night as the Gamma Virginids meteor shower ...
Dozens See Fireball In The Sky

WISN Milwaukee
WISN Chief Meteorologist Mark Baden said people from as far away as Iowa and Ohio saw the fireball which was likely a meteor. "A meteor is a rock, ...
Huge fireball over Wisconsin!

Discover Magazine (blog)
For those of you in Wisconsin, apparently there was a heckuva meteor that lit up the skies there around 10:00 pm local time April 14, an hour ago as I write ...
KGAN, Cedar Rapids, IA, indicates reports of "boom." (Not clear if those reports are local to the Cedar Rapids area.)

----- Original Message -----
From: mlangen
To: MeteoriteCollectors @yahoogroups. com
Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 10:36 PM
Subject: Re: [MeteoriteCollector s] Fireball -- Southern Wisconsin

"Reports now streaming in from as far east as Grand Rapids, MI, as well as Iowa and Missouri.

----- Original Message -----
From: mlangenf
To: MeteoriteCollectors ATyahoogroupsDOT com
Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 10:30 PM
Subject: [MeteoriteCollector s] Fireball -- Southern Wisconsin

Roughly 15 minutes ago I saw several very bright flashes in the sky through a west-facing window here in Monticello, Wisconsin. A nearby amateur astronomer acquaintance emailed to report that she had seen a bright "red and green" fireball transit the western horizon just below a local treeline. There was no perceptible sonic boom here.

I do not yet have estimated azimuth or elevation estimates, nor do I know whether the track was right-to-left or left-to-right from the observer's viewpoint. There was no perceptible sonic boom here. Given the extraordinary brightness of this event, however, I suspect there may be a new fall some distance to the west."

posted by Mark on met-collectors site

Also for eyewitnesses please go to the AMS website via the sidebar link and complete a witness report. Thanks!

  • Fireball Report Form, Have you seen an extremely bright meteor? Share your sighting with others across the globe by filling out our fireball report form.

  • 2010 Fireball Sightings Table, Lists fireballs sightings submitted to the AMS for 2010. Compiled by Robert Lunsford.

Dare to Add venture Fur Ther???

Dare to Add venture Fur Ther???
Leica Follow the · · · — — — · · · PhotoByAten

Be sure to listen to Walt Whitman!!!

109 comments:

dylan said...

i was pulling up in my buddys drive way and i saw somthing explode in the air and just vanish uder the trees

Anonymous said...

Yes! It was huge and slow, splitting into at least two pieces as it moved in a perfect horizontal line. Bright enough to light up the sky like a huge bolt of lightning, close enough that it looked like fireworks. Totally awesome!!

Anonymous said...

Saw the fireball tonight, 4/14/2010 around 10:20 PM in Western Dubuque, exactly above sundown ski resort area. It looked like a great big moving fireball with sparks flying off of it. It lit up my entire house and yard. A couple of minutes after it passes, we heard and felt rumbling and our deck shook. It was HUGE. It looked like it was only about 200 feet in the air.

Anonymous said...

It was about 10:12 PM here in Wisconsin. The sky lit up like daytime gradually in about 5 or 8 seconds. There then was a really bright white light coming from the sky. The boom lasted about 10 seconds. The neighbors said they saw a meteor falling to the west.

Anonymous said...

I am in Clive, Iowa (near Des Moines). I saw it to the northwest - amazingly bright and profoundly green, with a tail of yellow/gold. Awesome.

Emily said...

I saw it in Lake Zurich, IL in the northern sky. It was breaking up as we saw it & was green & redish. Crazy. I would like to know what it was & where it landed.

Anonymous said...

I was out for a walk and saw it to the north in Iowa City. An initial bright flash caught my attention, and i watched it go from west to east across the sky and appeared to burn out before disappearing behind some trees.

Jenn said...

Cedar Falls, IA. Visible to the north, Left to right near the horizon. Bright flickering blue/white light immediately followed by bright flash.

bluefireballwatcher said...

wow yea I just told my mom about the brightest shooting star I have ever seen about 20 minutes ago. Then we saw report on kare 11 about how the sheriffs office is getting a bunch of reports on sightings. It was pretty much staight south of where I was at in Rogers Minnesota. It was big and had a neon blue color like LED lights with a longer orangish tail was really slow compared to normal shooting stars/metors COOL!!!

Unknown said...

were driving SW in right outside Verona, saw a huge orange and white fireball going right to left. Don't know how close it was, but it looked huge! Saw it from the corner of my eye for about a second, then actually watched it fall for about another 2 seconds. Amazing!

Josh G said...

I was hanging out in a Culver's with some friends when I looked out the window and literally had myself convinced that i saw a plane exploding. It was bright orange, had a tail, and looked to be disintegrating. I couldn't hear anything indoors with all the people around, but it didn't look that high in the sky and rather large. I was located in lower Wisconsin. Probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

Unknown said...

Forgot to mention, it was tonight (4/14) at around 10pm

bluefireballwatcher said...

I think i forgot to mention it was around 10:15-10:20 PM

Anonymous said...

A friend just called us from Viroqua, Wisconsin and said that it shook her house. She said it went down somewhere around Richland Center about 40 miles away from her.

Anonymous said...

we saw it here in decorah, iowa, around 10:05pm approximately. very bright, several seconds of flashing light above the clouds, arching to the west/southwest. broke apart as it traveled. mainly lit up the sky in a green hue, but with a fiery yellow trail.

Anonymous said...

it appeared that there was heat lightning visible all the way up in Green Bay. that was apparently the flash reflecting off of some light clouds

Weary Wolf said...

Coon Valley, Wisconsin: approx 9:15 p.m. -- Took my dogs out only to have the entire neighborhood light up like a sparkler. Turned around to see the meteor heading southeast, low in the sky, with a very long tail. Jaw dropped ... went in and posted on Facebook and reports were coming in about booms and sightings from Richland Center, Platteville, Waterloo and Decorah, Iowa ... Never saw anything like it before.

Unknown said...

At 10pm in Waterloo IA I was watching tv in my living room I thought I heard thunder and moments later sky turned a bright green. That drew my attention and I watched a large fiery ball with a flaming tail pass across my window.

Unknown said...

Hi, My dad was in his car, south of Cedar Rapids and saw a "Huge fireball", it was mostly white and very bright complete with a large/long tail. By his best estimate it was moving NE and he also noticed that it appeared to be sparking near where it disapeared over the horizon from his perspective. He did not hear a sonic boom. Happy hunting Iowans...;)

Anonymous said...

We are here in Platteville Wi and around 10:04ish we were walking outside when one of the guys we were with yells what is that and we all watch this small light get brighter and closer and brighter until it lights up the entire sky like greenish and then we could see it like break into a bunch of pieces and burn out. A few seconds after we could here a loud like rumble throughout campus. It was probably the scariest and coolest thing we have ever seen!!

Unknown said...

I am from Ames Iowa and the object was falling down in the northeast it looked like. Green flames all around with a long tail.. Awesome as heck! My girlfriend was too slow to see it :( sweet that a lot of other people saw it!!

Unknown said...

I'm in Galena, IL [Jo Daviess county], not far from the Mississippi.
I was outside stargazing with a friend. We were lying down looking the complete opposite direction when pretty much the whole sky lit up blue & caught our attention. We looked over to see a giant white flaming ball with sparks coming off the back streak through the sky. By far one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

Anonymous said...

I am in McFarland, WI, just a bit southeast of Madison. I was on my couch in my upstairs loft facing my window when this huge flash of color came in through my curtains. I ran to the window in time to see two large objects dim out and disappear behind some trees heading west. I opened the window but didn't hear anything like a plane or the booming that has been described. Primarily orange and pale blue light. Was obscured by sheer white curtains. Amazing lightshow. I've seen shooting stars but nothing as huge as this appeared to be. Lit the room up like it was lightning.

gbishop@geotrec.org said...

We observed this fireball from our porch at 319 South Main Street at 10:04 PM. The fireball passed Fayette Iowa from WNW to ESE and split into at least two pieces as it passed over Northeastern Iowa. At approximately 10:09 we heard a distinct "sonic boom." This was a geomorphology class and Science and Environment Club group in downtown Fayette, Iowa (52142) having dinner and a lecture on an outside deck. Needless to say, the Instructor, Dr. McCarville (Upper Iowa University) and her students were very impressed with this phenomenon.

Anonymous said...

thanks for settling the bet- I told my daughter and her friends that it must have been fireworks! Around 10:15 PM or so we were driving West between Sauk and Spring Green, WI. A huge light entered from the South and passed directly in front of our car. It lit up the sky completely and the stars were not visible. It looked somewhat like a very large, prolonged shooting star. It was incredibly bright and then seemed to split into many pieces and fizzle out. We didn't hear a noise, but that could have been masked by the screaming 14 year olds in the car.

Anonymous said...

Reporting from Madison Wi area. While outside walking my dog I saw a bright light. I started walking around my house to get a better view and saw it traveling in a West to East direction. It broke into several smaller pieces before disappearing out of my line of sight. About a minute after I heard a series of loud rumbles.

Anonymous said...

Saw it in Dubuque, Iowa. Also heard a faint rumbling several seconds after the flashes (there were more than one).

Anonymous said...

I live in Pickett, WI and was out looking west when I saw a bright light through some clouds, thought it was the moon until it flashed, then thought it was heat lightning and then it became VERY bright orange/yellow and began to move south toward the ground. Never saw a distinct ball of anything because of clouds. Thought it was a plane exploding and was waiting for the explosion when it hit the ground but there was no sound. Thought I was losing my mind.

Gberg Res said...

I live in Guttenberg Iowa and I was sitting at my kitchen table looking North when I saw two flashes of blue lights to the South. My husband was in the bedroom and saw a flash that was yellow/orange to the east. We came downstairs looked out the window waiting for another flash, but there was none. He returned to the bedroom and I went to the bathroom. As I went to look out the bathroom window there was a huge boom and then the blinds blew in at me from the blast wave. I hit the floor and my son came out of his room asking why the thunder was so loud. It wasn't until we turned on the news that we learned it was a meteor.

SSM-South Campus said...

Marshalltown, Iowa. A very bright green light which had fireballs coming off the back of it moved very slowly from a mainly west to east direction.

My daughter, at a boarding school in Minnesota, said that people at her school reported the same thing at nearly the same time.

Facebook is now full of people in my area who have seen this and can confirm. No noise here, bright light began about 10:05 and lasted approx 10 seconds until it went out of sight behind trees.

Called 911 to report, they thought I was a lunatic. Hah! I am NOT crazy!

Anonymous said...

My wife and I were sitting on our couch at around 10:05 PM and saw some bright light coming from the West but appeared to flash and light up the sky. From in the house we thought it was a lightning flash or heat lightning. I don't know but say 10 or so seconds went by and we heard a huge boom sound. I thought it was a bomb or something that had gone off. I checked and the sky was clear and stars were everywhere and that puzzled us. then we saw on the news that others had reported a meteor in the area. We are in NE Iowa.

Joe Hinke said...

I was sitting on the couch watching the first few minutes of Mad Money and saw the meteor with a long tail and trailing debris in the southwest sky. It was moving west to east. Two to three minutes later (lost track of time was too excited) the entire house shook from the sonic boom that lasted for 10 seconds or so. Very cool.

Anonymous said...

At about 10:10 p.m. local time I saw a fireball in the sky out my front window, low (about 10 degrees above the horizon) west of my house traveling south-southwest. It lasted 5-20 seconds, long enough for me to run outside to watch it disappear, leaving a yellow-greenish trail.

I checked the sheriff dispatch center and they were getting lots of calls. Some web searching later showed it had been seen and heard from Wisconisn to Iowa. Some sites called it a "Bolide."

Whatever it was, it set all the coyotes and dogs within earshot howling ...

David
Waupaca, WI
41.18.48N 89.8.12040W

Anonymous said...

Yea it actually shook my house pretty good, and i live in Holy Cross, Iowa.

mIEKAL aND said...

Saw & heard large sonic boom in West Lima WI, had all the people out on the streets. Seems like we should be able to triangulate where it came closest to touching down by everyone's reports.

Anonymous said...

Yea it actually shook my house pretty good, and i live in Holy Cross, Iowa.

elka said...

I live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. At around 8:30 PM my time, I was coming out of IMAX movie (oh, the irony, about Hubble 3D) and I saw what I thought to be a shooting star... But instead of having a flashy, long and slime white trace, it was bold, orangy, and really huge, and desintegrated itself. I know nothing about astronomy, etc. anything related, but I thought I was crazy so I Googled as much as I could and ended up here. If anyone has details, that would make sens that you saw that in USA but me in Canada here... please I beg you, email me.

Anonymous said...

I saw the meteor looking west a little after 10p.m. I am in Milwaukee, WI. It was very bright green and fell apart gradually as it fell to the earth.

Unknown said...

About an hour ago I was driving on a country road outside of Monona, Ia and I saw several flashes of light. I didn't think anything of them. Then 15 later I was sitting in my house and heard a loud thump and roling sound on my roof. It was too dark to find anything until morning.

Unknown said...

I was getting in my car around Ten in Port Andrews just outside Blue River, Wisconsin. The sky lit up to the point it looked like it was day. It was a white and orange fireball and lasted about 10 seconds and it looked to burn up right over the Wisconsin River by highway 60. I heard the boom but could not hear it but friends in Blue River said it shook the house and moved their couch.

Anonymous said...

Heard a hugh boom, shook the windows, woke the dogs. Dodgeville (Lindon, Edmond)

Anonymous said...

I missed the fireball myself but my boyfriend and another friend in caledoina mn saw something in the sky. He called me but nothing on the news here yet.

Anonymous said...

we saw it here in liberty pole Wisconsin around 10:05 I didn't see directly but did hear the sonic boom aprox 2 min later the sound kept on for about 30-60 sec.
it travled S,E
Hassan Fortney 4/14/10

Anonymous said...

8 Miles north of Prairie du Chien, WI... just after 10:00 p.m. saw the whole sky lit up in orange/ green then saw sparks falling from the sky in our field.... about 2 or 3 minutes later there was a long drawn out boom and rumble.

Anonymous said...

Our family watched the red and green fireball with a yellow and orange tail (which appeared to be falling straight down) from our Gaylord, MN window while watching the 10pm news... It lasted long enough (6-10 seconds) for everybody to see it after they jumped up when I started pointing and hollering to look!! The kids posted on facebook and texted friends - some of who saw it too. We'd really like to know where it landed??? Very cool.....

Anonymous said...

was heading northbound on Mem Falls Pkwy in Wauwatosa, WI tonight saw it as I drove home from work at 10:05pm CST. Was large, bright green with a long yeloow tail, broke a small piece off and was still in the tail showed as a large meteor with a lump in the tail, lost it behind the trees, was heading West in the sky over Brookfield, WI. No reports of impact yet.

Anonymous said...

Holy Meteorite!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marion Iowa, approximately 10:15pm CST, April 14, 2010. Daughter, Madisen, (13) and I, Julie, walked out of our shed directly East. We both saw the 'meteroite' or Bolite Fireball as we have quickly learned it is called. IT WAS SHOCKING!!!! and left us both speachless for a few seconds. My first thought was that it was an airplane going down in a huge ball of fire. We watched it from high in the sky coming down from an approximate 11:00 position. It traveled across the sky to a 5:00 position in a matter of approximately 5-6 seconds which seemed an eternity. The fire ball was bright orange, round and seemed to be the size of the moon when the moon is full. WOW.

Anonymous said...

Fennimore Wisconsin
Daughter said her room lit up like it was daylight and then the loud thunderlike boom. I was in town and missed the light but definitely heard the loud boom. Thought it was a car accident or someone hit the building I was in.

Anonymous said...

I'm in Soldiers Grove, WI and I didn't see it because my shades were pulled but I heard a huge boom that actually shook my house and the dogs started going crazy!

Anonymous said...

I was driving home from work at about 10:12 in Waukesha, WI, traveling toward Eagle/North Prairie WI, when I saw what I thought was a very bright plane. It got larger and brighter and was absolutely dazzling. It then broke up into a few fireballs before disappearing altogether.

Unknown said...

Was heading west towards La Crosse, WI, on I-90 near the Fort McCoy exit. A bright light became visible in the sky to the (I believe) West / South West. Looked up to see what looked like a fireball in the sky, with a long tail. Seemed to go behind some clouds, light them upm and then break apart. Did not hear any sounds.

Unknown said...

Im here at UW-Platteville and the whole campus is talking about it. I just saw a bright flash and a minute later a loud thunder. Ive heard alot of people say it landed in Lancaster or Potosi.

Anonymous said...

Saw the same thing in Peoria, Illinois. Not as dramatic as many accounts further north, but still. 200 miles to the south and visible. No sound though =(

Bobby Duncan said...

We were stopped northbound at the intersection of Greenmount Road and Hwy 50, O'Fallon, IL 62269. I first thought the object was space debris falling from the sky. Initial sighting was approximately 330 deg azimuth/40 deg elevation. Object burned orange, yellow, and green. There was no trail observed. I tracked the object for approximately 5-7 seconds before losing sight behind obstructions. Lost sight at approximately 010 deg azimuth/20 deg elevation. I thought I saw a faint flash but I cannot be sure. At the time I believed the object was MUCH closer to our location (30-50 miles north). I called 911 to report the incident. I'm sure the dispatcher thought I was a loon. Amazing site for sure. I drove north of town to find any signs of its impact. I obviously know now that I'd probably have to drive to Indiana or Ohio to see it!

Anonymous said...

I am located in Whitewater, WI and I was driving home and looked out the drivers side window and saw a small orange-ish, yellow "shooting star". It was somewhat small, it looked far away. Then I noticed a really bright flash of light on the passengers side almost like lightening. I looked over and saw a bright orange and yellow fireball. It was huge, so much closer than the smaller one that I saw a few seconds earlier. It was one of the coolest things I ever saw!

Anonymous said...

I was fishing in downtown des moines by the iowa cubs stadium and saw it moving in the sky to the east it was in the air for around 8 seconds tops it was glowing green like a glow stick and was moving slowly then it changed to a orangish color and kept getting brighter then it exploded and vanished

Bobby Duncan said...

I marked the time as 10:05pm. I dialed 911 at 10:06pm.

Anonymous said...

I live near the exit that Jason @ 9:28pm is talking about. I was inside, so did not see the lights, but I definitely heard the boom.

Nina said...

I saw a large bright light pass horizontally across the sky as if it were a bright firework. It definitely lit up the sky and appeared to break into a couple of bright pieces, and then it just disappeared. I saw this in Waunakee, WI (just north of Madison, WI)

Anonymous said...

...as far north to us on Brice Praire (on Lake Onalaska)...heard/felt the very large "boom"/vibration. Was indoors, dogs went crazy at the sound - missed seeing anything, however. This was approx 1010pm...

Anonymous said...

meant to say..Brice Prairie, Onalaska, WI is our location :)

Anonymous said...

Saw 2 huge flashes out my window that lit up the whole sky thought it was lightning at first, but there was no sound, I live in LeGrand Iowa

phatumpaul said...

I live in Stanwood Michigan which is about 50 miles north of Grand rapids. My wife and I were outside on our porch and saw a fireball traveling through the sky going north to south.It went behind some trees but it looked like it hit the earth and gave off a bright light. It was crazy, at first I thought it was a shooting star but it was way too bright and way too low. It was traveling slowly through the sky so i figured it was a ways away but never thought it was all the way in wisconsin. were eastern standard time here and it happened alittle after 11 pm

Wolf said...

DeForest, Wisconsin: At around 10:12 p.m. I saw several bright blue lights which at first I took to be an airplane, but then they became too bright. There were three main lights, and as I watched them traverse my window over about 8 seconds time they became smaller and there were visible tails, glowing orange before they finally winked out. I can probably give a decent estimate of the angle come morning based on where I sit in my chair versus the tree-branches I see out my window; I'd recognize the specific branches that were highlighted.

Nathan Thibodeau said...

Coon Rapids, MN about 10:20 PM 4-14-10

My wife and I were standing outside with a friend when my wife thought she saw a shooting star. We all looked to the southeast and saw a large red ball with a reddish flame trail fall to the ground. About 1-2 seconds later the sky lit up red-orange like the object exploded. It happened too quickly to see what it was and I thought a plane crashed.

Edmond B said...

I saw it from Littlefield Lake, Isabella county, Michigan. I thought it was a firework from the green/red/orange color changes until the trajectory sunk in. Pretty awesome.

Anonymous said...

Directly over Fennimore Wisconsin at 10:07 pm at the intersection of Highway 61 and Highway 18 West. Huge bright light. I first noticed the sky get bright and saw it when I looked toward the West out my driver's window. I stopped the car and looked up out of the moon roof and it went directly overhead traveling East and a few degrees South. It looked like it was just a few hundred feet in the air and about half the size of a car but without an object to compare it to, it could have been much higher and much larger. Phenomenal.

Teddi said...

I'm in Watertown, WI and heard the rummble. I thought it was begining to thunder until my son called from near Platteville,WI. He lives in the country and said the meteor lit up their entire area like daylight. Then it seemed to explode with parts seeming to fall into the cornfields around the house. Then the noise began. It seemed to last for minutes. He said it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen or felt.

Ashley Yunker said...

I was outside my house in clinton,Ia when we saw the whole sky light up and in the tree line saw what look like sparks when they faded and went away. me and my friends thought it was a firework til a friend called and told us that the story of the meteorite was all over the news. It was crazy and cool. We all saw it and are thankful for all of that. The sky was amazing.

Anonymous said...

Highway 12 Between Wisconsin Dells and Baraboo by Ho-Chunk Casino saw it start to finish! It was CRAZY!

Martie said...

Green Bay WI, I was driving southward at 10:06pm and saw a bright green fireball moving from west to south. I was on my cellphone and said, "Wow, what the hell is that!?" and then called 911 immediately and described it. It was maybe a fourth as big as a moon and was just above the trees, like two outstretched fists above the horizon. It continued green for 5 seconds, then half of the green ball (the bottom half) turned fiery orange, then it disappeared. It traveled west to south maybe an eighth of the circumference of the sky, without seeming to lose very much altitude. I saw it through opaque hazy clouds, although the sky directly overhead was clear/starry. Eight minutes later the 911 operator called me back and said they had received numerous calls and had confirmed that it was a meteor. Hah, when I called 911 I told her it looked like it must have crashed in DePere (a couple miles south of here)!

Tom F. said...

Fennimore WI, (about 45 minutes from Dubuque, IA)

I saw a brilliant flash of light, and looked up. Saw something resembling a shooting star, moving quickly across the sky. It shone a brilliant blue/green. It suddenly seemed to "explode" into a flash of bright orange/red just beyond the tree line.

A moment later there was a thunderous "Boom" sound, and the ground shook violently. Our house was shaken pretty roughly. A distinct rumbling echoed through the neighborhood for a good 2 minutes after the initial boom.



I'll say this was the most amazing and beautiful thing I have seen in my entire life. I am honored to have seen this, and doubt I'll ever see another one first-hand.

Anonymous said...

Lancaster wi. Was outside smoking a cig when all of a sudden i literally felt like someone put a spot light on me it was like day time with a blueish tint to it. I look up in the sky and i see this HUGE fireball with a tail it was amazing! It seemed to burn out right in front of my eyes. We had no idea what it was and then all of a sudden we heard the loud BOOM and my brother said his blinds rattled and the glass rattled in his room. After the boom it rattled forever. Anyone know where this thing hit!! MOST AMAZING THING I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!!!

Anonymous said...

We were in t e house and thought that is was lightning. I heard a smaller boom and asked my husband what it was, then a few minutes later we heard a deep reverberating boom. We looked up the radar online to see if there were any storms int he area. We still thought it was thunder but made the comment to each other that it sounded odd. That was in Prairie du Chien in SW WI.

Anonymous said...

Meteor. I live in Cedar Rapids Iowa. First saw it due north, near Polaris in Ursa minor. 30 degrees above horizon. It went east to north/east and disappeared around Phi Herculis in Hercules. A very bright fireball. Similar to the Grand Junction, CO fireball. Started as a white/green light, the turned bright orange/red as it disintegrated. Lasted 5-8 seconds. Heard no sound. It looks as though the Pleasant Hill office outside of Kansas City is also getting reports of a fireball as well. The La Crosse Wis, office said one caller reported a “boom” as it passed over. Someone in Loves Park, IL. said "The door to our deck lit up like someone had shined a flashlight on it in two pulses. Then, moving from Southeast to Northwest, I saw a big orange ball and then it was gone." This thing was visible across a large part of the region. VERY COOL indeed. Kerry Lawrence

Anonymous said...

I was walking up to my upper floor and saw a flash out through my door and what i thought was fire works until i got out to my deck with my guest and they said there was a flash and what they described as a black ball and entrailing sparks and then we heard the thunder that really didn't resemble lightning thunder and it never repeated itself again. Great experience for an awesome April night. Prairie du Chien WI

Anonymous said...

Around 10 tonight I was driving home from my boyfriend's house, then I had to break hard and stop for a deer. Two seconds later, while I was still stopped I saw this fuzzy light through the clouds. I watched it angle down and all of a sudden it broke through the haze and it was a very bright, brilliant green color, with a trail of orange behind it. I watched it grow brighter and brighter then all of a sudden it turned fiery orange and disappeared.
I thought it was really close to my location so I even drove around for a couple minutes trying to find it. (haha)

Jess said...

Waterloo, Iowa - About 10:05pm or so April 14th, 2010. I was just leaving my brother's house when a bright light caught my eye. I looked up and saw what looked to be a shooting star. It was bigger than your normal shooting star. It had a green ring around it and a green tail. It flew across the sky from left to right. Then it exploded...turned like a orange/yellow color and faded away to darkness. It sounded like thunder. When it exploded it was really BRIGHT! Lit up the whole sky and my surroundings. Kind of like a firework would do. It was really neat!

Alexandra Bandow said...

I live in Altoona, IA and I saw it around 10:20 PM. I was on I-80 heading towards Des Moines and then I saw something that looked like a plane then it got closer and was lit up like a hugeeeee basketball with insane flames. Never seen anything in my life before. But I saw when it landed and exploded. A huge flash was in that area. Was Definitley somewhere East of the Des Moines area. About 10-30 minutes away.

Drew said...

Ames, IA
Outside having a smoke when I saw it cross the sky for almost 10 seconds, it had a bright green tail then turned into an orange fireball then disappeared. Really glad I happened to be outside for the amazing sight.

Miss Jenna May said...

La Crosse, WI ugh I don't know the time. I saw the sky light up and looked out my car window and it looked like a huge shooting star. It left a trail of speckles like it had burst or something. It was pretty awesome.

Anonymous said...

I know, over reported already, but here’s mine...

My wife and I with another couple were out having a few beers on this nice spring day. We are in central Wisconsin, just north of Wisconsin Dells. (-89.8516, 43.8268) Actually, we were already watching the sky, fascinated by the way Mars seemed to be moving around.

Suddenly (~10:00PM, GMT -6) a mainly white ‘fireball’ was also to the West of us became VERY apparent traveling N to S. It grew progressively brighter as it advanced. (The frogs even went silent due to the bright light.) Just as it was about to go behind the trees on the south side of the creek we were near, it apparently began to break up. Once behind the tree line, the glow in the sky quickly faded. We didn’t hear anything. (But all of us were talking too...)

Harrison Samuels said...

A little after 10pm CST, I saw a green fireball fall southeast of my location (Detroit Lakes, MN). It separated into a few chunks that burned bright orange then disappeared from view.

Anonymous said...

we were driving north on highway 71 in missouri south of kansas city and saw a big bluish green ball with a orange tail aroun 10:05 pm

Anonymous said...

about 10:05 pm central tiome on highway 61 between sandstone and hinckley,mn my son and i were driving south and seen a red light in the sky ,it went behind cloud where it turned green and lit up the cloud.then back to red flashing between green and red ,when it passed the cloud cover it was flashing red/green and u could see the fireball and the tail, it was heading slightly north of east as it got close to the horizon there was a big white flash and it was gone, it was AWSOME and amazing!!
glad i got to see it!

Jenni Thayer said...

Cincinnati, Oh.
I was sitting on my back porch smoking a cig while the dogs did there buisiness before bed. I happened to look up at the sky toward the northeast and saw this enourmous fireball. I knew it was too big to be a shooting star... I even waited for someone to set off more "fireworks". But after nothing else happened I started searching the web for what it was... And here I am. I think it was the same thing. It was just after 11pm here... So with the different time zones... That matches up. Same green To orange color. And suddenly got really bright and faded away. I didn't hear any kind of boom or sonic blast though. Must have been pretty huge if it happened in Missouri or Iowa and I saw it that bright here in Ohio. Very interested to find out exactly what it was. :)

Anonymous said...

Michael from Green Bay. Live down on the east side of the river just north of the Fox Point Boat launch in De Pere. About 10:05 saw a ball of fire that looked like it was moving from west to east low in the southern sky. It changed colors as it descended and then smaller pieces broke off the main ball becoming little fire balls themselves. I did not see it land as it dropped below a single story house behind mine. Heard a sonic boom just before seeing the ball appear.
Does anyone know if there was an impact(s)?

Anonymous said...

www.aos.wisc.edu

Anonymous said...

Was in Coon Rapids MN leaving work @ 10:05pm on my way back home to Minneapolis. Saw a huge green fireball cross the sky going southeast. So beautiful.

Michael said...

Michael from Green Bay. Live down on the east side of the river just north of the Fox Point Boat launch in De Pere. About 10:05 saw a ball of fire that looked like it was moving from west to east low in the southern sky. It changed colors as it descended and then smaller pieces broke off the main ball becoming little fire balls themselves. I did not see it land as it dropped below a single story house behind mine. Heard a sonic boom just before seeing the ball appear.
Does anyone know if there was an impact(s)?

Anonymous said...

I'm in Oregon, IL and saw the very end of it through my north-facing window after someone commented on seeing "heat lightning". The direction of view was northwest. The remnants appeared to be heading in a northerly (left to right) direction as it came into view from the window frame until the fragments faded out at around 20-15 degrees above the horizon. I do not recall hearing any sound, but the TV was on. WREX is reporting that a police dashboard cam recorded it and will air it tomorrow or Friday.

brianna said...

i live in lancaster wisconsin and i was told that landed near or between lancaster and fennamore (sorry for spelling) i was in my room with the window closed when it "boomed" the shock souned like something hit my house but it also sounded like thunder. i checked out weather.com and no clouds were on the radar. so i went to my facebook (has atleast 30 eyewtiness reports) and found out it was a meator.

Anonymous said...

I was traveling soundbound on Hwy 5 through Lovilia, Iowa at 10:05pm and witnessed along with my kids the amazing fireball in the sky.

John Logan Blog said...

Livin in Romeoville Il. And my Son Duaghter were coming home just after 10:00 pm and the horizon lit up for a few seconds. My son son said "what was that ? lightning? ... I said" yeah". Guess we were both wrong.

Anonymous said...

I was driving home on I-80 through Coralville, Iowa when I saw it. It looked like a big greenish yellow fireball and it sort of flickered as it came down and then looked like it exploded before it went out. I didn't hear any noise, though.

John Logan Blog said...

Live in Romeoville, Il . Was driving home with my Son heading North through our neighborhood. The Sky lit up for a few seconds. My Son said "What was that? lightning?" I said "Yes".

We were both wrong.

Anonymous said...

I saw it all the way out in West Des Moines, IA. My friends and I had just finished a softball game and we all thought it was a plane going down at first due to the green light and how it burst into flames. It didn't look as big as some of the videos online from that distance though.

Mary Mclane said...

I heard it!! ..I was getting into my car at Kwik Trip, Fennimore WI Grant County..It shook my Bones..I thought That wasn't thunder..!!!
It was about 10:05 PM ..

Unknown said...

On Northbound Interstate 35 at Kearney, MO around 10PM. It was Bright Green with a orange firey tail. I wondered if someone had set off a firework but thought it lasted way too long for that.

seth said...

I was in Spring Green, WI and saw the large flash at around 10 PM, I joked that it was a meteor. Guess I was right!

Anonymous said...

Rural Soldiers Grove, WI. Observed right flash of light through window, assumed was lightning. Single sonic boom shook the house about 2 minutes following.

Katie Z. said...

In Marengo, Iowa... I was sitting at my desk and saw out the window at a little after 10 the sky light up. I thought it might be lightning and wondered how that was possible since there were few clouds. Then a friend said that they had been driving and saw it streak across the sky. I wish I had not been surrounded by trees and houses!!

Anonymous said...

Did anyone see that bright light in the sky last night? i was looking out my window to the north and a bright light moved slowly across the lower sky east to west, it was white with some blue flashing with a very bright center it also looked like it was spinning. I passed it off as it must have been a large helicopter with search lights on or a plane crashing but it was my only explanation at the time. This morning the news reported a meteorite was seen by others and there will be more. This was absolutely the most fantastic thing I have ever seen

Charles Del Campo said...

As a freelance reporting investigator, there is too much inconsistencies in this presumed Wisconsin "Meteor" story by the clever media reporters. Like so, the obvious red flags are there and the possibilities that this could be an alien spacecraft crash of a UFO is more than likely! Tune in...If you know the basic scientific components of a "meteorite" you will surely know that this is certainly not one of them!

Interestingly, the official police video has authenticated a legitimate visual of such OVNI encounter and this indisputable evidence is clearly demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt. Even Astronomers, Skeptics and NASA will have to agree of its true contents which is compounded with a mirage of multiple reliable witnesses of the unexplainable occurrence!

Notice how come the assortment of news media has failed to report live footage from the crash site? What does that tell us? Perhaps another conspiracy theory by NSA and SETI. No doubt that Ufologist are going to have a field day with this bizarre development from outer space!

We must stop the denial and admit that there is a strong possibility of intergalactic extraterrestrial life in our marvelous and infinite universe!
Charles Del Campo
Freelance Journalist
Tel: (305) 529-4949
Paranormalpsy@aol.com
Link: http://www.youtube.com/user/CharlesDelCampoTV#p/u/18/vOtR5xCSg2o

Anonymous said...

I live in spring lake michigan and was out in nunica driving around with some friends when we all seen something in the sky. It was to the point I slammed on the breaks and yelled for everyone to look. It was so bright it lit up the sky for 5-9 seconds fallowed a red dot shooting below the tree line. It was by far the coolest thing i have ever seen

Anonymous said...

I live in spring lake michigan and was out in nunica driving around with some friends when we all seen something in the sky. It was to the point I slammed on the breaks and yelled for everyone to look. It was so bright it lit up the sky for 5-9 seconds fallowed a red dot shooting below the tree line. It was by far the coolest thing i have ever seen

jhoey said...

I just watched the video of this meteor shower in Iowa and really feel scared because I can't really imagine how it looks like...

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Anonymous said...

I saw a meteorite thing, about 20 minutes ago. It has a bluegreen glow and a yellow-orange streak, similar to the photo I saw on wikipedia. Try searching "Bolide" on wikipedia, it looks exactly like the image in there. By the way, I am here in Quezon City, Philippines.