ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A fireball flashed across the sky on Thursday afternoon in a spectacle that was visible to residents in several states, including Georgians.

The National Weather Service (NWS) speculates that the object is a meteorite or space junk, but officials are still investigating.

On social media, users report seeing the fireball in other states at around 12:25 p.m., including South Carolina and Tennessee.

NWS officials said numerous reports of an earthquake came in shortly after the object ripped through the skies.

“That earthquake you felt was the result of the sonic boom from the meteor or space junk,” NWS said.

The flash could be seen from Macon to Upstate South Carolina.

NWS officials said it could not track the object with radar because it would have “travelled too high and too fast to resolve, and satellite images only come in every several minutes at best, so they would not capture it either.”

“However, we do have access to a GLM or ‘Global Lightning Mapper’ that looks for flashes high in the sky (i.e. lightning) which also happened to occur with this object and mimic the effect of lightning, so the object was detected by the lightning network,” the weather agency said.

The video below is from Columbia County, Georgia, which is near Augusta:

Henry County Emergency Management said it has sent crews to a home after its owner reported at least one rock crashing through their roof. The department said it is working to find out if the incident is related to the possible meteorite.

Meanwhile, WHNS, Atlanta News First’s sister station in Greenville, South Carolina, reported that multiple agencies are looking into reports of a possible crashed meteorite in the upper part of the state.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it had “no reports of unusual aircraft activity in the area.”

A lightning detection network picked up a signal that could indicate the object as it passed over Georgia.

It is currently unknown if the object landed or where it may have done so.

If you have any photos or videos of the possible meteorite, you can text them to Atlanta News First at 470-777-WANF (9263).

This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First as we learn more.

Copyright 2025 WANF. All rights reserved.