Newly released footage shows a spectacular fireball blazing at 32,000 mph (51,500 km/h) across the skies above North Carolina on Friday evening (Sept. 24), the American Meteor Society (AMS) reported.

More than 80 people spotted the fireball, which NASA said was just one of five such meteors reported soaring over the United States that evening. The fiery meteor “skimmed the coast of North Carolina, becoming visible 48 miles [77 kilometers] above the ocean off Camp Lejeune,” at around 7:40 p.m. ET, NASA said.

The brightly-burning meteor followed a northeasterly trajectory “traveling 26 miles [42 km] through Earth’s upper atmosphere” before disintegrating 28 miles (45 km) above Morehead City, North Carolina. Fireballs are meteors that appear as brighter than the planet Venus, according to the AMS, meaning that they are in theory visible by daylight —


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such as the March 2021 fireball that lit up the afternoon sky across parts of the United Kingdom, Live Science previously reported. The blazing space rocks owe their startling brilliance to their large sizes and blistering speeds — which create a significant amount of friction when the rocks hit Earth’s atmosphere.

As the fireballs enter the atmosphere at speeds far exceeding the sound barrier — between 25,000 and 160,000 mph (about 40,000 to just under 260,000 km/h), according to the AMS — they can also arrive accompanied by a tremendous sonic boom. READ MORE