--- description: Social media was alight with videos that appeared to show a meteor blazing through the night sky above Michigan highways title: A 'Natural Meteor Fireball' Just Exploded Over Michigan image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7078f473a4fe98bb/6988f8710a4a226faa9d16d6/2018-01-17t031148z_1231238922_rc13449bf3e0_rtrmadp_3_usa-meteor.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Michigan](/tag/michigan/) ## Michigan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A 'Natural Meteor Fireball' Just Exploded in the Sky Over Michigan by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 17, 2018 9:03 AM CUT  Car dash-cam video obtained from social media captures a view of a meteor near Bloomfield Hills, Mich., on Jan.16, 2018. Car dash-cam video obtained from social media captures a view of a meteor near Bloomfield Hills, Mich., on Jan.16, 2018.Mike Austin—Youtube/Reuters by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 17, 2018 9:03 AM CUT Social media was alight Tuesday with videos that appeared to show a fireball blazing through the night sky above highways of southeast Michigan, and flashes of blue and orange light over settled snow. As witness accounts — as well as surveillance and car dash camera footage — made the rounds, The National Weather Service Detroit (NWSD) wrote on Twitter that the flashes and bangs were “likely” a meteor, not thunder and lightning. NWSD later confirmed that a meteor had occurred, citing the U.S. Geological Survey. It blew up over Detroit with enough force to register as a 2.0 earthquake, National Public Radio [reports](https://twitter.com/NPR/status/953470605852102656 "undefined"). > [](https://twitter.com/NWSDetroit/status/953481672636461056) The Ingham County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said in a Facebook post that the sighting was “a natural meteor fireball,” [urging people](https://www.facebook.com/inghamhsem/ "undefined") not to call 911. **Read more:** [_A Mysterious Object Flying Past the Sun Is Our First Confirmed Visitor From Another Solar System_](http://time.com/5033026/mysterious-object-confirmed-another-solar-system/ "undefined") Here’s how people reacted when night turned to day over Detroit. > [](https://twitter.com/michiganprobz/status/953447509594079234) > [](https://twitter.com/krharrison/status/953440513004359680) > [](https://twitter.com/KateWWMT/status/953460118762516480) > [](https://twitter.com/RyanFieldABC/status/953469273749573632) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5105552/detroit-michigan-fireball-meteor/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5105552/detroit-michigan-fireball-meteor/"},"headline":"A 'Natural Meteor Fireball' Just Exploded in the Sky Over Michigan","datePublished":"2018-01-17T09:03:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:53:43.204Z","description":"Authorities have urged witnesses to stop calling 911","url":"https://time.com/5105552/detroit-michigan-fireball-meteor/","keywords":["Michigan","weather","Space","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7078f473a4fe98bb/6988f8710a4a226faa9d16d6/2018-01-17t031148z_1231238922_rc13449bf3e0_rtrmadp_3_usa-meteor.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph Hincks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7078f473a4fe98bb/6988f8710a4a226faa9d16d6/2018-01-17t031148z_1231238922_rc13449bf3e0_rtrmadp_3_usa-meteor.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A car dash cam captures a view of a meteor in Michigan","caption":"A car dash cam captures a view of a meteor in Michigan","creditText":"Mike Austin—Youtube/Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/michigan/","name":"Michigan"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5105552/detroit-michigan-fireball-meteor/","name":"A 'Natural Meteor Fireball' Just Exploded in the Sky Over Michigan"}}]}] ```