When Bloomingtonians hear a boom, they’ll usually turn their heads south toward the military base by Crane, Indiana. The base does explode munitions every now and then.
But it appears Saturday morning was not the time to look south. It was time to look up.
That’s because it was very likely the sonic boom of a meteor that shook homes in Bloomington and around the Midwest just after 6 a.m. Saturday morning.
The first piece of evidence: a litany of sightings on the American Meteor Society’s pending reports page. There’s no official meteor event report yet on the site, which might take some time. The last official report was from Oct. 23, also observed in Indiana and surrounding states.
The sightings are spread across a large area, from Indiana to Michigan, to Ohio, to Kentucky. The closest observation to Bloomington was at 6 a.m. in West Baden Springs, right next to French Lick.
The wide area of observation, IU astronomy professor Catherine Pilachowski said, means the event was probably high up in the atmosphere.
The second piece of evidence: it wasn’t Crane. While exploding munitions at the base can cause booms to ripple up to Bloomington, a public affairs officer for Crane Army Ammunition Activity said there was “no activity” Saturday after checking with the “demo team.”
And point three: social media reports. One Reddit thread points to widespread observation in and around Bloomington. Multiple commenters said the boom shook their homes. One said they saw the meteor in Indianapolis.
“Don’t know what it was, but I heard and felt it. I can confirm you’re not crazy,” another commenter said. “It wasn’t like the blasting booms from the quarries.”
Amy Reese taped a fireball on her dashcam in New Albany, Ohio, and told the Indiana Daily Student she recorded it between 6 and 6:05 a.m.
“As it went out, it had sparks like a sparkler fizzle from it,” she said.
This article may be updated.
