Several locals across Georgia, including Atlanta, and South Carolina, reported seeing a fireball in the sky on Thursday. Its last sighting, as per reports, was in Lexington.
Locals in South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee saw a fireball in the sky (Unsplash)
According to WYFF TV in South Carolina, the National Weather Service in Greenville-Spartanburg noted that the object appears to be a meteorite.
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Reported between 12:15 and 12:30 PM ET, the sightings drew over 100 submissions to the American Meteor Society (AMS), with witnesses describing a blazing object, loud booms, and shaking homes.
"This was the middle of the day, and it just came out of nowhere," one fireball report on the American Meteor Society read from Perry, Georgia.
What Locals Saw
Metro Atlanta, Georgia: Residents from Riverdale to Suwanee, Covington to Calhoun, reported a “streak of fire” or “glowing object” falling from the sky. In Rockdale County, witnesses heard a “loud boom” and felt houses shake, prompting initial fears of an earthquake, ruled out by the US Geological Survey (USGS).
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South Carolina: Sightings poured in from Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson counties, with videos from White Horse Road and Lexington showing a “giant ball of fire” fading above the tree line.
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South Carolina: Sightings poured in from Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson counties, with videos from White Horse Road and Lexington showing a “giant ball of fire” fading above the tree line.
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Other States: Tennessee and North Carolina reported similar sightings, with a firefighter in East Tennessee describing it as a “mini sun with a tail of fire” around 12:20 PM local time.
The fireball’s exact endpoint remains unclear, as it likely disintegrated in the atmosphere.
What Makes Fireballs Visible?
A fireball is a meteor brighter than magnitude -4 (brighter than Venus), caused by a space rock (meteoroid) entering Earth’s atmosphere at high speed.
Meteoroids, typically 1–20 meters in size, travel at 11–72 kilometers per second (25,000–160,000 mph). Friction with the atmosphere heats them to thousands of degrees Celsius, vaporizing material and creating a glowing plasma trail. Larger meteoroids produce brighter fireballs.
Yash Bajaj is a Chief Content Producer with a strong foundation in US coverage, digital strategy, and audience-focused storytelling. As part of the US Desk at Hindustan Times, he covers a wide range of topics - from American politics to sports (NFL, NBA, derbies, MLB and more). Before joining Hindustan Times, Yash served as Deputy News Editor at Times Now, where he oversaw international coverage and led a team of six. In this role, he significantly expanded global traffic through strategic planning, SEO-driven content execution, and meticulous trend tracking across platforms. He is experienced in managing high-pressure breaking-news shifts, coordinating live coverage, and building newsroom systems that improve speed, accuracy, and reach. Prior to Times Now, Yash held a position at Opoyi, where he headed the Sports and US news team. He developed broad editorial strategies, guided reporters across multiple beats, and played a key role in recruiting and training new talent. His responsibilities also extended to social media management and experimenting with innovative content formats. A passionate NFL fan, Yash is a die-hard supporter of the Cincinnati Bengals and has followed Joe Burrow closely since his college days at LSU. Whether breaking down top players' latest performance, analyzing team performances, or tracking roster moves, he brings the same dedication and sharp storytelling to his sports coverage as he does to American politics and breaking news. When he’s not writing, Yash can often be found watching games or debating the latest NFL storylines with fellow fans. Yash holds a Bachelor of Mass Media (Journalism) from HR College, Mumbai University. His interests extend well beyond the newsroom: he is an enthusiastic explorer of AI tools, a movie buff with an ever-growing watchlist, and someone who enjoys unraveling conspiracy theories for fun.
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Home/World News/Us News/Fireball in the sky? Here's what locals in Atlanta, Georgia and South Carolina saw and where it disappeared
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