A bright meteor briefly swept across the sky over parts of the US Midwest and Canada on Tuesday, weather and geology agencies said, and then caused a powerful explosion that rattled homes and onlookers.
The meteor was seen across the region in places such as Ohio, Michigan and Ontario at about 8 p.m. local time and registered a 2.0 magnitude tremor about 4 miles (7 km) east of Saint Clair Shores in Eastern Michigan, the United States Geological Survey said on its website.
The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed it was not a meteorological event but more likely a meteor.
“The NWS can confirm the flash and boom was NOT thunder or lightning, but instead a likely meteor,” the NWS in Detroit said on Twitter.
The meteor sighting lit up social media with people posting videos and reaction.
“I can’t believe there was a Meteor! It shook our house and made a large bang! We thought someone hit our house,” Twitter user Jennifer Wilson said in a post.
Others had more ominous thoughts.
“I thought for sure I was either seeing the alien invasion or the apocalypse. It’s awesome in retrospect, freaky ... in real time,” said a Twitter user who goes by the name Crash.
Aliens, apocalypse, lightning? ... No, just a meteor rocking Michigan
Aliens, apocalypse, lightning? ... No, just a meteor rocking Michigan
