Thousands Witnessed This ‘Green Fireball’ Explode Over Illinois

I saw the buzz about this all over social media Saturday, May 4 after what many thousands described as 'a green fireball' explode over Illinois. Many captured video of the space rock as it disintegrated over the Land of Lincoln.

According to the American Meteor Society, more than 115 submitted actual reports of this meteor which was captured on many security and dashcam videos. It exploded over Illinois at approximately 9:37pm on Friday night, May 3.

Jason Langston captured this video from Quincy, Illinois.

The meteor was described as a 'green fireball' by many and was seen as far away as Michigan and southern Canada and as far south as Kentucky. This video was shared from Michigan.

This big space rock was likely a part of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower which is hitting its peak right now as reported by The Verge. They estimate anywhere from 10 to 30 meteors per hour in some parts of the sky.

Here's another view of this meteor captured by Anne Wolfe from Urbana, Illinois.

This meteor seen by thousands over Illinois and many other states is now one of the most widely-visible meteor events of 2024 so far according to the American Meteor Society.