A meteor blazed across the night sky over North Carolina and Tennessee on November 5, 2026, traveling at 47,000 miles per hour before breaking apart over East Ridge, Tennessee, according to NASA.
NASA noted that one of its sky cameras captured the meteor soaring through skies over southern Tennessee on Nov. 5, 2026.
NASA Cameras Tracked the Cosmic Visitor over North Carolina
The cosmic visitor sprang into view at approximately 7:45 p.m., first spotted 53 miles above the North Carolina town of Robbinsville, Starlust reported. Located in the Nantahala National Forest in the Blue Ridge Mountains roughly 208 miles west of Charlotte, Robbinsville is home to nearly 600 people, according to Hoodline.
Four NASA All Sky cameras tracked the object as it moved south of west over the region, capturing its brief passage. Local 3 News added that all four regional sky cameras, including one stationed in Tullahoma, got a good view of it.
#MeteorSighting: Several witnesses reported sighting a fireball over southern Tennessee yesterday evening, Nov. 5, at 7:45 p.m. EST. The meteor was also detected by four NASA All Sky cameras in the region. The object – a small piece of an asteroid 2 inches in diameter, weighing 6… pic.twitter.com/ePD5XDYmuM
Just about 10 seconds elapsed between the first sighting and its final breakup, CBS News reported, during which time the debris traveled around 120 miles toward East Ridge, according to the New York Post.
The object ultimately disintegrated at an altitude of 25 miles above East Ridge, just southeast of Chattanooga, Starlust noted. Footage recorded by sky cameras at Huntsville, Alabama, Tullahoma, Tennessee, another site close to the Tennessee-North Carolina border, and the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, enabled NASA to examine the meteor.
Small Asteroid Fragment Measured Two Inches in Diameter
Agency analysis of the camera footage revealed that the object was a small piece of an asteroid, measuring two inches in diameter and weighing six ounces, NASA stated. The New York Post noted that officials confirmed the fragment weighed less than half a pound. Observers shared numerous photographs of the event on social media, while residents who had clear skies could see the object speeding toward the earth.
One witness described the event as the biggest ball of fire
they had ever seen, the New York Post reported, while witnesses on Reddit recounted that the object streaked across the sky glowing blue, white, and orangish yellow.
Another observer reported hearing a sound like a lighter’s poof
as the rock screeched overhead, leaving behind the most insane tail,
the, New York Post added. The early days of the solar system, about 4.6 billion years ago, gave rise to these rocky and airless leftover bodies from which the fragment separated.
Shower Distinction
The timing of the fireball coincided with the peak of the Southern Taurid meteor shower, which saw its November peak fall overnight Wednesday, Nov. 4, into Thursday, Nov. 5, with another viewing window the following night into Friday, Nov. 6.
A meteor streaked across the skies over parts of North Carolina and Tennessee, traveling at 47,000 mph according to NASA. pic.twitter.com/fAI5hMlC2r
However, NASA clarified that the meteor was unrelated to the ongoing shower activity. Additional fireballs could become visible to stargazers soon, particularly during the anticipated Northern Taurid meteor shower peak on the nights of November 11 and 12.
Astronomers use the term fireball to describe an especially bright meteor that remains visible over a wide area, CBS News reported. Meteors are frequently referred to as shooting stars,
which represent the visible paths of asteroid fragments entering Earth’s atmosphere, NASA explained.
A bright fireball was spotted in skies over North Carolina and Tennessee, zooming by at 47,000 mph before disintegrating above a city near Chattanooga, NASA said. https://t.co/dXGgWxiA6f