Suspected meteor behind loud boom heard in Central Indiana, officials say

(INDIANA) — A loud boom heard across Central Indiana Friday night reportedly shook some homes and left residents wondering what exactly just happened.

There were also reports of a light streaking across the sky and a “possible explosion,” the Hamilton County Emergency Management said, as the source of the activity was under investigation.

“It may have been a sonic boom,” Hamilton County Emergency Management tweeted Friday night. “Police and fire continue to investigate.”

A National Weather Service lightning detection system picked up “something over Carroll County,” Hamilton County Emergency Management said.

Experts soon surmised that the sonic boom was from a suspected meteor. The National Weather Service’s Indianapolis office said its Geostationary Lightning Mapper detected a “likey fireball meteor” over Carroll County.

A home security camera in Greenwood, Indiana, picked up a loud boom and streaks in the sky accompanied by a fireball at 8:47 p.m. local time.

The suspected meteor could be seen by pilots in Kentucky, according to Hamilton County Emergency Management.

The American Meteor Society received multiple reports of a fireball in Indiana Friday night, including in Indianapolis, Bloomingdale, Lafayette, South Bend, Covington and Albany.

Fireball reports also came in to the American Meteor Society Friday from parts of Michigan, including Kalamazoo, and Illinois, including Chicago and Danville.

The reports come as the Lyrids meteor shower is occurring across the United States. The shower occurs every year in mid-April, when Earth crosses the trail of debris left by the Comet Thatcher, according to NASA.

“These bits of comet burn up when they hit Earth’s atmosphere and produce this shower of shooting stars,” NASA said.

For prime watching, the Lyrids are set to peak Saturday night.

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