An unconfirmed meteor lit up the sky over Michigan Monday evening, June 1, according to the Michigan Storm Chasers, a group that tracks statewide weather and offers daily forecasts. The meteor lit up the Michigan sky around 10:41 p.m. and traveled south to north across Howell, about 55 miles from Detroit. Video recordings of the fireball were shared across social media. The streaking object was seen across Michigan. Multiple social media users commented, sharing video of an object streaking through the sky. Earlier in the
week, a large meteor exploded over the East Coast near Boston. The meteor created multiple sonic booms, which some people in Michigan reported hearing. Meteor, meteorites, meteoroids — which is it? Those are words that sound similar, but there are important differences. Meteoroid: A body in space. Asteroids are larger rocks in space, but there’s no official distinction.Meteor: A body passing through the atmosphere. If the meteor is large enough to show some dimensions or sparks, it’s often called a fireball.Meteorite: A meteor that survives
the fall to the Earth’s surface.Meteor shower: A lot of meteors streaking across the sky in a small amount of time, usually a matter of a few days. What is a fireball? What is the difference between a fireball and a bolide? A fireball is another term for a very bright meteor, generally brighter than magnitude minus 4, which is about the same magnitude of the planet Venus in the morning or evening sky, the American Meteorological Society explains. A bolide is a special type
of fireball which explodes in a bright terminal flash at its end, often with visible fragmentation. Think you found a meteorite? What to do According to the United States Geological Survey, people who find meteorites should look out for several properties to confirm if its accurate: Density: Meteorites are usually quite heavy for their size, since they contain metallic iron and dense minerals.Magnetic: Since most meteorites contain metallic iron, a magnet will often stick to them. For “stony” meteorites, a magnet might not stick, but
if you hang the magnet by a string, it will be attracted.Unusual shape: iron-nickel meteorites are rarely rounded. Instead, they have an irregular shape with unusual pits like finger prints in their surface called “regmaglypts.”Fusion crust: stony meteorites typically have a thin crust on their surface where it melted as it passed through the atmosphere.
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