'Fireball' seen falling from sky over Southeast confirmed as meteor, possibly hit Georgia home

ATLANTA - A massive fireball that streaked across the southeastern U.S. sky in broad daylight Thursday has been confirmed by NASA as a meteor, with evidence suggesting it broke apart high above Georgia and may have sent debris crashing to the ground.

20 tons of TNT

What we know:

NASA says the meteor entered Earth’s atmosphere at 12:25 p.m. EDT on June 26, first appearing 48 miles above Oxford, Georgia. Traveling southwest at an estimated 30,000 miles per hour, the object disintegrated at an altitude of 27 miles above West Forest, unleashing energy equivalent to about 20 tons of TNT.

The breakup produced a powerful pressure wave that reached the ground, creating loud booms and tremors that startled residents. According to NASA, "some large windows may have vibrated or even cracked." The fireball was caused by an asteroidal fragment approximately three feet in diameter and weighing over a ton.

Its entry was so intense that it triggered the Geostationary Lightning Mappers (GLM) aboard NOAA’s GOES satellites—devices normally used to detect lightning. Doppler radar also picked up falling debris, and the agency has received reports of meteorite fragments being found.

Witnesses across Georgia and neighboring states—including as far south as Macon and as far north as Upstate South Carolina—reported seeing a flash of white light followed by what many described as an "earthquake." However, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed no seismic activity occurred. Officials say the shaking was the result of a sonic boom.

Atlanta meteorite?

Local perspective:

Doorbell camera footage captured a fiery streak in the early afternoon sky, and a Rockdale County official shared video appearing to show a burning object falling to earth.

One of the most dramatic incidents occurred in Henry County, just south of Atlanta, where emergency officials are investigating whether a meteorite may have struck a home in McDonough. The Henry County Emergency Management Agency confirmed a resident reported a rock crashing through their roof and ceiling, cracking the laminate flooring before coming to rest inside the home.

Radar images suggest debris may have fallen in the area of Blacksville, Georgia, near a Home Depot distribution center along Highway 20.

No injuries were reported.

Fireball seen across Southeast

Big picture view:

FOX Weather reports that the American Meteor Society received over 100 sightings related to the fireball. The National Weather Service in Charleston confirmed the GLM detected a streak over the NC/VA border, and officials in Anderson County, South Carolina, are investigating a potential crash site.

WHNS reports that officials in Anderson County, South Carolina are looking for a possible crash site in the Upstate region of the state.

The South Carolina news source said reports have been made in Spartanburg County, Greenville County and Anderson County.

Georgia meteor fell in Henry County

What they're saying:

The Henry County Emergency Management Agency director confirmed that an object caused damage to a home in the McDonough area, not far from Blacksville.

"Although I can’t confirm this is from a meteor, there is unusual damage to the home," the director said. "A piece of debris entered through the shingles and made it through the ceiling and hit the floor."

The EMA is continuing to assess the situation.

"It was crazy. I keep replaying it in my head," said Michelle Hartley, who saw the meteor in Calhoun. "I just happened to look up and I seen it coming down out of the sky like it was white, and the ball of it was like on fire. Like the part that is entering the atmosphere."

Doorbell camera footage captured the blazing streak visible even in the early afternoon sun.

Michelle Hartley, who witnessed the meteor from Calhoun, Georgia, described the scene as surreal.

"I just happened to look up and I seen it coming down out of the sky like it was white, and the ball of it was like on fire," she said. "It was crazy. I keep replaying it in my head."

The exact origin of the object and whether meteorite fragments caused structural damage remain under investigation.

Meteorite in Georgia

Dig deeper:

Astrophysicist Alissa Bans, director of Emory University’s observatory, said the phenomenon was most likely a bolide—a term used for an exceptionally bright meteor that may explode upon entering Earth’s atmosphere.

"This likely had its origin, kind of, as an asteroid or a part of an asteroid," Bans said. "That is pretty unusual… there are usually just a handful a year that reach that fireball class."

"Luckily, most of the time, things burn up pretty easily in Earth’s atmosphere," Bans noted.

What was the fire ball in the sky?

What we don't know:

The investigation into the McDonough incident remains ongoing.

What you can do:

The origin of the object remain under investigation.

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