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Hundreds report seeing fireball over New England

Hundreds of witnesses reported seeing a large fireball brighter than the nearly full moon over New England at 5:20 pm EST on Sunday, January 12, 2014. Most reports came from Connecticut, but the fireball was also seen from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Maine. Based on the reports, the estimated trajectory of the fireball is from southwest Vermont heading north and terminating over Rutland County.

A "heat map" of the fireball sightings from January 12, 2014
A “heat map” of the fireball sightings from January 12, 2014
An estimated trajectory of the fireball based on public reports
An estimated trajectory of the fireball based on public reports

If you saw the fireball, you can file a report with the American Meteor Society.

There is a lot of suspicion that the above photo may be an airplane instead of a meteor. Check out this link for similar photos of contrails near sunset.

Here is another photo of the reported fireball.

EXIF data: Nikon D7000 & 70-300mm & 300 f/5.6 - 1/2500 sec - ISO 500 01/12/14 - 5:03 PM
EXIF data:
Nikon D7000 & 70-300mm & 300
f/5.6 – 1/2500 sec – ISO 500
01/12/14 – 5:03 PM

Fred Campagna

President and Chief Meteorologist - Right Weather LLC AMS Certified Consulting Meteorologist #756 AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist #126

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