According to a report filed by the American Meteor Society, a meteor was seen falling in the Baltimore area around 7:45 pm on Monday night.
Video of the meteor streaking across the sky was captured and posted to social media platform X. Shooting stars can be seen.
But don't worry – a falling meteor doesn't mean the end of the world, nor does it mean it shares the same fate as the dinosaurs, which scientists say were destroyed by asteroid impacts.
“People rarely notice meteor events like this, but they occur relatively frequently and are completely natural,” said Ben Fernando, a postdoctoral fellow in Earth and planetary sciences at Johns Hopkins University. “While it may be interesting, It’s not worth worrying about.”
Here are four things you need to know about falling meteors.
How common are meteors?
Meteors that fall to Earth are also commonly called “shooting stars” and are quite common, according to NASA. While some scientists report that as much as 48.5 tons of meteoric material enters the Earth's atmosphere per day, Fernando estimates the range is closer to 50 to 100 tons per day.
What are these?
Most meteors found on Earth come from what NASA calls “broken asteroids.” Fernando said “fragmentation” might be a better word. Some materials also come from distant planets, such as Mars and Venus. In addition, Fernando said asteroids could shed material due to impacts and collisions or gravitational effects, and dust, sand or larger rocks could hit Earth later.
Are they dangerous?
Meteors can travel tens of thousands of miles per hour, but they often break apart or disintegrate in Earth's atmosphere, rendering them virtually harmless. NASA estimates that less than 5% of original meteors reach the ground.
When large meteors fall to Earth, they leave a lot behind, and scientists can glean a lot of information from them, including data about the history of the solar system. Although meteors tend to fall around the world, debris is more likely to be found in flat, uninhabited areas such as Utah, Nevada and the Sahara Desert.
How many hit the Earth?
Scientists estimate that more than 50,000 meteorites have been found on Earth. There are also 190 craters on Earth formed by meteor impacts.
Have a news tip? Contact Todd Karpovich at tkarpovich@baltsun.com or @ToddKarpovich on X
