GOES and NASA Capture Bolide Meteor Exploding Over the Gulf Monday Night

A meteor, possibly two, exploded over the eastern Gulf Monday evening, with many sightings reported throughout the state of Florida. The event was captured by the GOES lightning mapper, which the National Weather Service in Tallahassee posted on Tuesday.

NASA has now released footage from observatories that show the bolide, a term used to describe a larger than normal meteor which breaks up and explodes, potentially producing a sonic boom. This event occurred during the 9 pm hour Monday night.

View the footage by clicking the thumbnails in this article. Observatories at UCF in Orlando and in Daytona beach both show the bright treak of light toward the bottom edge of the camera's view, but the footage does show enough to see the meteoroid break up before it disappears from view.

Curious about the different terminology used to describe meteors? Check out the helpful guide from the AMS below.

You may notice the location of the bolide on the lightning mapper and NASA's reanalysis are in different locations. Were there two fireballs or bolides Monday evening? It seems likely given the time and locations were quite different.