PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A rare meteor could be seen streaking over the skies of the Pacific Northwest early Friday morning, August 14.
According to NASA, fireballs or bolides are “exceptionally bright meteors that are spectacular enough to be seen over a very wide area.”
In this case, a bolide was spotted and recorded by infrasound instruments from the USGS over the skies of the Pacific Northwest.
“Infrasound instruments at several volcanoes recorded the bolide quite well. Infrasound refers to sound waves that are below the sensitivity of human hearing. Bolides are excellent infrasound generators because of their supersonic speed and fragmentation as they enter the atmosphere. Though dramatic to observe, bolides are common with thousands entering our global atmosphere daily,” stated the USGS Volcanoes Facebook page…