Shocked onlookers saw what appeared to be a fireball shooting across parts of the Southeast on Thursday.
The National Weather Service office in Atlanta wrote on X that the fireball appears to be “a meteor or space junk” that moved over north Georgia shortly before 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
“Reports of an earthquake came in shortly after, followed by sightings & video of a flash across the sky seen as far as Macon & Upstate South Carolina,” the weather service said.
A Georgia resident reported a rock coming through the roof of their home that left a golf ball-sized hole “around the time of the reports of the ‘earthquake,’” the weather service added in a follow-up post, citing Henry County emergency officials.
“We are presuming that a piece of the object fell through their roof,” the service said.
Emergency officials are investigating after the object fell about 25 miles southeast of Atlanta.
Dashboard and doorbell cameras across several Southeastern states caught glimpses of the fireball that appeared to be plummeting straight down towards the earth.
More than 140 people in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee reported the object to the American Meteor Society.
Meteors and other space debris frequently enter Earth’s atmosphere, but it is rare for an object to be so bright it can easily be seen in daylight.
Bright fireballs are caused by friction as an object enters the atmosphere and slows down considerably. Almost all objects break into minuscule pieces before striking the ground, according to NASA.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
