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Meteor Lights Up Southern Michigan (arstechnica.com)

New submitter Foundryman writes: Amidst fake missile reports in Hawaii and Japan, Michigan gets hit by something real. From a report via Ars Technica: "Early last night local time, a meteor rocketed through the skies of southern Michigan, giving local residents a dramatic (if brief) light show. It also generated an imperceptible thump, as the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed that there was a coincident magnitude 2.0 earthquake. The American Meteor Society has collected more than 350 eyewitness accounts, which ranged from western Pennsylvania out to Illinois and Wisconsin. They were heavily concentrated over southern Michigan, notably around the Detroit area. A number of people have also posted videos of the fireball online. The American Meteor Society estimates that the rock was relatively slow-moving at a sedate 45,000km an hour. Combined with its production of a large fireball, the researchers conclude it was probably a big rock. NASA's meteorwatch Facebook page largely agrees and suggests that this probably means that pieces of the rock made it to Earth. If you were on the flight path, you might want to check your yard.

2 of 38 comments (clear)

  1. Fake != False by djbckr · · Score: 3, Insightful

    For God's sake, it wasn't fake, it was false. Big difference. If it was fake, then it wasn't from legitimate sources. But it was from legitimate sources, so it was "fact". It was a false alarm, but it wasn't fake.

  2. Impercievable! by Sumus+Semper+Una · · Score: 1, Insightful

    It also generated an imperceptible thump

    the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed that there was a coincident magnitude 2.0 earthquake

    I do not think that word means what you think it means.