Wednesday Jan 17th just after 7:30 p.m. a green fireball was seen by thousands of people, including several locals in Christmas, Manistique, and even right here around Munising. A college observatory in Iowa, some 120 miles away also took note of the phenomena.

The brilliant glow was caused by a six-foot meteor plummeting to earth at roughly 22,400 MPH before disintegrating in the atmosphere 15 miles above the surface of the Earth.

People on the ground below the explosion of the meteor experienced the equivalent of a 2.0 earthquake or ten tons of TNT.

What was uncommon with this meteor was its trajectory. While most meteors come in at a severe angle, skimming over the stratosphere and traveling through the increasingly heavy atmosphere, Wednesday’s meteor came in a nearly direct angle. Falling straight down with relatively little variation in its trajectory, it made for quite a sight for the lucky few who spotted it.