Uploaded January 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
On Jan. 1, 2022, just before 11:30 am local time, there were numerous citizen and media reports (as well as many emergency calls to 911) describing multiple sonic booms heard in southwestern Pennsylvania. The area was cloudy at the time, but the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) onboard the GOES East satellite detected the likely source of the sounds—a bolide, or large meteor exploding in the atmosphere. NWS Pittsburgh tweeted out a GLM image to explain the event, which was used in local, national, and international media coverage.
A nearby infrasound station registered the blast wave from the meteor as it broke apart, and the data enabled NASA to estimate the energy was similar to 30 tons of TNT. Additionally, they estimated the size to be about a yard in diameter, with a mass close to half a ton. Had it not been cloudy, the fireball would have been easily visible in the daylight sky—estimates indicate it was about 100 times the brightness of the full moon.
While designed for mapping lightning flashes, the GOES-R GLM can observe large meteors anywhere throughout its coverage area. The instrument takes 500 images of Earth every second, allowing it to measure the shape of a meteor’s light curve, or the change in brightness of a meteor with time, with millisecond precision. In order for GLM to detect these flashes, the bolides need to be as bright as the full moon. Due to this, the instrument is also able to pick up the signals of meteors in Earth's atmosphere.
The loud “booms” with no visible source can cause a lot of anxiety, especially in populated areas. The National Weather Service (NWS) and broadcast meteorologists have begun using GLM data to quickly confirm the source and notify citizens to calm their fears.
Read more: nesdis.noaa.gov/news/earth-orbit-catching-bolides
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Credits:
NOAA
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
CIRA
Stock footage:
MountAiryFilms/Pond5
Music:
“Shooting Stars,” by Adam Dawson [PRS] & Adam Thomas Rustidge [PRS]; Ninja Tune Production Music; Universal Production Music
On Jan. 1, 2022, just before 11:30 am local time, there were numerous citizen and media reports (as well as many emergency calls to 911) describing multiple sonic booms heard in southwestern Pennsylvania. The area was cloudy at the time, but the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) onboard the GOES East satellite detected the likely source of the sounds—a bolide, or large meteor exploding in the atmosphere. NWS Pittsburgh tweeted out a GLM image to explain the event, which was used in local, national, and international media coverage.
A nearby infrasound station registered the blast wave from the meteor as it broke apart, and the data enabled NASA to estimate the energy was similar to 30 tons of TNT. Additionally, they estimated the size to be about a yard in diameter, with a mass close to half a ton. Had it not been cloudy, the fireball would have been easily visible in the daylight sky—estimates indicate it was about 100 times the brightness of the full moon.
While designed for mapping lightning flashes, the GOES-R GLM can observe large meteors anywhere throughout its coverage area. The instrument takes 500 images of Earth every second, allowing it to measure the shape of a meteor’s light curve, or the change in brightness of a meteor with time, with millisecond precision. In order for GLM to detect these flashes, the bolides need to be as bright as the full moon. Due to this, the instrument is also able to pick up the signals of meteors in Earth's atmosphere.
The loud “booms” with no visible source can cause a lot of anxiety, especially in populated areas. The National Weather Service (NWS) and broadcast meteorologists have begun using GLM data to quickly confirm the source and notify citizens to calm their fears.
Read more: nesdis.noaa.gov/news/earth-orbit-catching-bolides
*
*
Credits:
NOAA
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
CIRA
Stock footage:
MountAiryFilms/Pond5
Music:
“Shooting Stars,” by Adam Dawson [PRS] & Adam Thomas Rustidge [PRS]; Ninja Tune Production Music; Universal Production Music
