Residents in South Carolina were stunned Thursday afternoon as a blazing “fireball” streaked over the sky in broad daylight, prompting widespread speculation and a flood of calls to emergency services.
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Charleston, South Carolina, confirmed that they received “many reports” of the celestial spectacle, which was visible from multiple states.
On X (formerly Twitter), the NWS noted that satellite-based lightning detection systems picked up a sharp streak of light in an otherwise clear section of sky, indicating a possible meteor. The system registered the streak between 12:51 p.m. and 12:56 p.m., near the border of North Carolina and Virginia.
BREAKING: Multiple fire departments are currently searching for what may have been a crashed meteor or fireball spotted falling from the sky.pic.twitter.com/dBF0baoeHm
— Resist Times (@resistupdates) June 26, 2025
The fireball was visible as far south as Georgia and South Carolina. In fact, the National Weather Service office in Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina, said that based on video footage and eyewitness accounts, the fiery object likely was a meteorite entering Earth’s atmosphere.
Fireballs are classified by NASA as unusually bright meteors—far more intense than your average shooting star—and are sometimes visible even in the daytime. According to NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies, such events are rare to witness, especially under the bright light of the midday sun.
Local authorities across Georgia, including the City of Roswell Fire Department, and emergency management officials in Forsyth and Dawson counties, reported receiving a wave of calls from startled residents.
Some witnesses described a glowing object that left a trail across the sky before vanishing. In Rockdale County, reports even included a loud boom followed by homes shaking—suggesting the fireball may have broken the sound barrier or possibly fragmented mid-air.
Similar sightings were reported in South Carolina, North Carolina, and even Tennessee, where people took to social media to share videos and photos of the mysterious object lighting up the skies.
While no damage or injuries were reported, the event has reignited public fascination with space phenomena and sparked conversations about near-Earth objects and planetary defense.
As of now, no meteorite debris has been recovered, but experts are continuing to analyze satellite data and footage submitted by citizens to determine the object’s origin, trajectory, and whether any part of it survived entry.
NASA and other space agencies track thousands of near-Earth objects, but smaller meteors—like the one likely seen Thursday—often go undetected until they streak across the sky in dramatic fashion.
Locals are encouraged to report their sightings to the American Meteor Society, which helps compile data for researchers and can aid in confirming the fireball’s exact path.