A video has shown what is believed a meteor sailing through the sky in the US.
In the video, the object surges across the sky in Utah and is followed by a loud boom. The footage has since been shared online, including by Utah state governor, Spencer Cox.
He confirmed that the loud, echoing boom was not seismic or an earthquake, and not related to our military instillations.
He said the “likely best theory” is that the sound was in fact a high altitute meteor that “blew up” when it hit the atmosphere, as one Twitter user described it.
The National Weather Service for Salt Lake City in Utah also released satellite imagery showing what is likely to be the meteor trail, or flash.
“Bolstering the meteor theory for this morning’s boom in Utah, the two reddish pixels shown over Davis and Morgan counties are from the GOES-17 Lightning Mapper, but not associated with evidence of thunderstorm activity in satellite or radar,” it said.
Bolstering the meteor theory for this morning's #boom in #Utah, the two reddish pixels shown over Davis and Morgan counties are from the GOES-17 Lightning Mapper, but not associated with evidence of thunderstorm activity in satellite or radar. Likely the meteor trail/flash #utwx pic.twitter.com/qRO2Rsfca7
— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) August 13, 2022
Meanwhile a number of security cameras from homes in the area captured the loud noise, and people’s shocked reactions.
Patrick Wiggins, NASA’s Solar System Ambassador to Utah, told local news outlet KSL that it’s not rare to see a meteor but it is rare to gear one.
Mr Wiggins said that means it was close and there are most likely fragments somewhere in Utah.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service said that a loud boom heard around Salt Lake City was likely a meteor hurtling through the air. https://t.co/Ejw8diZnr1 pic.twitter.com/yV2Dc8v9qU
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 13, 2022
