An unusually bright meteor is still getting attention after streaking across the Midwest Monday night, prompting a search for possible debris or meteorites throughout Michigan.
Experts say the event drew extra attention because it was brightly colored, lasted longer than a typical fireball and was captured by doorbell cameras and weather cameras across the region.
Former Director of the Chaffee Planetarium Dave DeBruyn described the fireball as “a brilliant incandescent green”, adding that it looked like a “laser beam pointed at you.”
The American Meteor Society (AMS) says the fireball was reported around 10:42 p.m., with many sightings coming from south-central Michigan, including the Lansing and Jackson areas.
AMS Operations Manager Mike Hankey confirmed the meteor was “a small fragment from an asteroid or comet that collided with the Earth and burned up in our atmosphere.”
NASA Solar System Ambassador Jerry Dobek, based in Traverse City, says the meteor was likely no larger than a pebble or seed.
“This one was probably a fair size, and looking at some of the biggest of the pictures, this may have been about the size of a small marble,” Dobek said. “But a small marble traveling to our atmosphere very fast burns rather quickly. That's why we see it as a bright streak traveling across the sky.”
Michigan Storm Chasers reported the meteor traveled northbound before burning out near Lansing. The group said on Facebook that debris may have fallen in Isabella, Clare, Missaukee or Osceola counties.
The AMS received 211 reports from Michigan and several nearby states. Additional reported areas include Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania and Ontario. Typical fireballs last about two seconds — but this one was visible for nearly 10.
That was long enough for DeBruyn, a lifelong sky‑watcher with the James C. Veen Observatory, to catch it.
“I’ve been looking at the sky since I was 12 years old and I’m now 85,” he said. “I have very seldom ever seen a really, really bright meteor. But last night was the exception.”
DeBruyn says he happened to be adjusting a telescope when he saw the meteor pass.
“All of a sudden it was very obvious what it was,” he said. “A momentary flash across the sky, and then little trailing debris that quickly faded out.”
While some meteor watchers speculate about possible fallout, Dobek says it’s unlikely anything survived and that the meteor most likely burned into dust by the time it could have struck the Earth.
“If it was a larger object, you could have a particle striking the ground,” Dobek said. “But you have to have several different views of where it's traveling from, where it's going to.”
Though no meteorites have been confirmed, The American Meteor Society says to report any suspected debris to AMS or the Michigan Geological Survey.