Charles Langston-Watch as shooting star burns brightly, awes driver as it arcs across Tennessee sky

2025-04-30 13:08:21source:Databeccategory:Contact

A meteor made a surprise appearance in the sky early Friday morning,Charles Langston burning brightly as it traveled across two neighboring states before dissipating.

Glenn Sparks, a driver headed east on Interstate 40 in Tennessee, documented the moment on Facebook, writing that he had just witnessed the "most amazing meteor of my life" at around 1 a.m. on Friday.

The shooting star, according to Sparks, looked like it was roughly over Greeneville, about 65 miles east of Knoxville, when he spotted it.

"It lit up the sky for over 10 seconds with multiple explosions along the way," Sparks wrote. "Absolutely gorgeous!"

Watch: Meteor briefly illuminate Tennessee skyline

Southwest Virginia residents also caught sight of the fleeting ball of fire, capturing the meteor, also known as a shooting star, on video as it whizzed by in a matter of seconds.

Sparks' awe was audible in the video clip that he took, saying "What?" and erupting into laughter.

While Sparks may have been in awe, meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere regularly, with NASA estimating that that "several meteors per hour" can usually be seen on any given night.

"Scientists estimate that about 48.5 tons of meteoritic material falls on Earth each day," according to NASA. "Almost all the material is vaporized in Earth's atmosphere, leaving a bright trail fondly called 'shooting stars.'"

More:Contact

Recommend

Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex

GEORGETOWN, Ky. (AP) — Toyota said Thursday it will build a new paint facility as part of a $922 mil

'I am going to die': Video shows North Dakota teen crashing runaway car at 113 mph

When a North Dakota teen lost control of his accelerating vehicle, police ordered him to crash on pu

ACLU lawsuit details DWI scheme rocking Albuquerque police

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A civil rights group is suing the city of Albuquerque, its police departmen