BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Scientists are investigating reports of a possible meteor over south central Indiana earlier this week.
The American Meteor Society received at least three reports of a meteor sighting just before 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
A man in Bloomington reported a bright white flash at 12:18 p.m., noting a "thundering sound" followed by a sound similar to a cannon. Around the same time, a man in Columbus reported seeing a yellow flash at approximately 12:20 p.m.
The AMS told The Bloomingtonian they used those reports to triangulate the sound and estimated it happened in an area just west of Greenwood.
A third report to the AMS website from a woman in Vevay, along the Ohio River, reported seeing a green light at approximately 12:40 p.m., but did not report hearing a noise.
Mike Hankey of the AMS told The Bloomingtonian the information from reports make for a "good confirmation" the witnesses saw a fireball meteor.
He said the limited number of reports is not surprising, given the apparent meteor occurred in the middle of the day. He hopes to get more reports, including people who may have captured the event on a home security camera.
One camera that appeared to record the meteor - or at least the sound of it - was in the garage at the Cordry-Sweetwater Volunteer Fire Department & Ambulance Corps in Nineveh. The eight-second clip, which the department posted to Facebook, was recorded at 12:43 p.m. and described an "explosion" that can be heard in the recording.
Commenters on the video post reported hearing the noise in several counties, including Brown, Fulton, Greene, Monroe, Morgan and Owen counties.
Many wondered if the boom came from Camp Atterbury, but two separate spokespersons for the base told Indy Public Media there was no "explosive or live fire training" on Wednesday and that the camp was not the origination point of the sound.
If you saw the flash or heard the boom on Wednesday, you can report your observations to the AMS on their website.
