TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — A bright fireball lit up the night sky over the Florida-Georgia border region late Sunday, with eyewitness reports flooding in around 10:26 PM EDT from communities across both states.
The sighting marks the second such event in less than 24 hours, following an earlier fireball spotted over the same general region Sunday morning. Two fireball sightings in a single day over the same part of the country is unusual, and the back-to-back events have caught the attention of skywatchers and astronomy enthusiasts throughout the Southeast.
What people saw
The fireball was visible across a wide stretch of the Florida-Georgia corridor Sunday night, with its apparent path tracking over northern Florida near the Gainesville and Tallahassee area, moving from the Atlantic side westward toward the state line. Fireballs are unusually bright meteors that burn through the atmosphere, sometimes leaving a glowing trail and occasionally producing a sonic boom or low rumble depending on their size and angle of entry.
Officials have not yet confirmed whether Sunday’s two fireballs are connected or were entirely separate meteors entering the atmosphere independently.
Why this is getting attention
Back-to-back fireball events over the same region in one day are considered rare, and the timing has fueled speculation among local residents about what exactly passed overhead.
Did you see it?
Anyone in Florida, Georgia, or nearby states who witnessed either fireball is encouraged to file a report so the sighting can be added to ongoing tracking efforts used to estimate trajectory and possible debris zones.
Residents are also urged to check home security systems, doorbell cameras, and dashcam footage from around 10:26 PM EDT Sunday for possible footage of the event, which could help build a clearer picture of where the fireball traveled across the Southeast sky.
