Fireballs Over 6 States, a Hole in a Houston Roof, and 5 Asteroids Approaching: Is the Sky Actually Falling?

In the span of just seven days, fireballs have been spotted across Ohio, Texas, California, Oregon, and the upper Midwest. A one-ton space rock exploded over Houston with the force of 26 tons of TNT and apparently punched a hole through a woman's roof. And now, NASA's Asteroid Watch dashboard is tracking five asteroids set to make close approaches to Earth this week, including one that will pass closer to us than the moon.

If you have been wondering whether something unusual is happening overhead, we have answers.

Seven Days, Six States, Two Confirmed Impacts

The string of events began on March 17, when a fireball crossed the sky over northeastern Ohio and parts of Canada, accompanied by a loud boom that rattled homes across the region. NASA confirmed a meteoroid weighing approximately 7 tons and measuring nearly 6 feet across had entered the atmosphere near Cleveland, breaking apart about 50 miles above Lake Erie while traveling at 39,200 miles per hour.

Four days later, on March 21, a different rock arrived over Texas. This one was smaller, about 3 feet across and weighing roughly one ton, but it made a bigger impression. Traveling at 35,000 miles per hour, it became visible 49 miles above Stagecoach, northwest of Houston, and broke apart 29 miles above the suburb of Bammel. The fragmentation released energy equivalent to 26 tons of TNT, sending a pressure wave across the Houston metro area that rattled windows and prompted residents to take to social media in search of explanations. Doppler radar tracked fragments falling between the suburbs of Willowbrook and Northgate Crossing. A resident in the Ponderosa Forest neighborhood reported that a football-sized rock came through her roof and landed on her floor. NASA confirmed it was working to verify the report.