Meteor — described as ‘Biggest ball of fire’ by shocked witnesses — lights up sky over Tennessee, NASA says

A small fragment from an asteroid blazed across the sky over Tennessee on Thursday evening, drawing reports from startled witnesses. NASA said it vaporised in the atmosphere, showing how even a tiny piece of space rock can produce a dramatic fireball.

First seen above Robbinsville, North Carolina, at about 7.45pm, it travelled roughly 120 miles towards East Ridge, Tennessee, in under 10 seconds at around 47,000 miles per hour. It disintegrated about 25 miles above the ground; NASA estimated the fragment was two inches across and weighed less than half a pound. The agency tracked it with cameras in its All Sky Fireball Network and said it was not part of the Taurid meteor shower.