NASA has confirmed that the bright light and what sounded like thunder in the sky across southeast Michigan was a meteor.

Officials with the space agency confirmed its meteor camera at Oberlin College in Ohio spotted the event at about 8:08 p.m. The image shows a tiny white ball traversing the screen until a bright flash is seen when it appears to make impact. Hundreds of Livingston County residents reported seeing the bright light followed by a loud boom. Angie Lavich posted on the WHMI News Facebook page that she, "...saw it in Brighton. It was like bright daylight for a second and an odd Electric like smell and a distant thunder sound." John R. Farley of Farmington Hills said that he, "was getting the mail when I saw a bright flash. I looked up just in time to see the fireball. It was yellow with a short, bright-green tail. The snow in the air enhanced its appearance. It was a few degrees south from being directly above me, and I heard it hissing like fireworks do. Then it vanished silently."

Meanwhile, the U.S. Geological Survey reported a “M 2.0 Meteorite,” referring to magnitude, about 5 miles west of New Haven. NASA is studying the trajectory and analyzing data, but Bill Cooke with NASA’s meteoroid environment office in Alabama estimates it appears to have been about one or two yards across, weighed more than a metric ton and traveled 40,000 to 50,000 miles to Earth.

Video courtesy of Mike Austin. (JK)