WATCH: 500 pound meteor, brighter than the Moon, hits Earth on 17 February
The meteor lit up the sky, moved at a speed of 45,000 mph, scattered to the ground
Three of NASA’s meteor cameras were first to witness the 500 pound meteor that entered into the Earth’s atmosphere. The cameras placed at an altitude of 60 miles, above Beaver falls, recorded the bright flare, which was brighter than the moon that lit up the sky above western Pennsylvania.
Below is a video of the NASA meteor camera that captured the show.
The cameras recorded the meteor zooming in at 45,000 mph before losing track of it at an altitude of 13 miles above the town of Kittanning. The meteor is said to have disintegrated into smaller fragments (meteorites) and scattered on the ground east of that location.
This celestial visitor had an orbit that took it out to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It came a mighty long way to a fiery end in the predawn Pennsylvania sky.