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Bright Light, Sonic Boom As Meteor Streaks Across Southern Michigan

A car dashcam captures a view of a meteor near Bloomfield Hills, Mich., on Tuesday in this still image from video obtained from social media.
Youtube Mike Austin/via Reuters
A car dashcam captures a view of a meteor near Bloomfield Hills, Mich., on Tuesday in this still image from video obtained from social media.

Updated at 10 a.m. ET

Michigan residents got a surprise Tuesday night when a meteor punched through the clouds with an explosive flash. It was powerful enough to register on seismic instruments.

About 8:05 p.m. ET, dashcams and security video caught the object as it streaked toward a northern suburb of Detroit, not far from the Canadian border. The U.S. Geological Survey, which has labeled the event a meteorite impact, says it measured magnitude 2.0 on the agency's instruments and hit about 5 miles west northwest of New Haven.

Social media postings indicate that it was seen as far away as Traverse City and Chicago. Some reported homes shaken by the explosion.

Although it is not possible to immediately verify the video, it appears that several posted on Twitter were of the same event seen from different locations.

You can see more at Twitter hashtag #meteor.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Scott Neuman is a reporter and editor, working mainly on breaking news for NPR's digital and radio platforms.