@therandallcarlson: In February 1913, a massive fireball crossed the night sky over North America, witnessed by thousands. Observers described it as a fiery red body followed by a long tail, some comparing it to sparks from a burning chimney, others to the glare of a furnace door. What made this event truly unusual was its trajectory: perfectly horizontal, moving with what witnesses called a peculiar, majestic deliberation. Most meteors streak downward at steep angles and burn out quickly. This one traveled parallel to the Earth's surface, visible for minutes rather than seconds, crossing from northwest to southeast. The horizontal path suggests something different than a typical meteor entry. It could have been grazing the upper atmosphere, skipping like a stone on water, or possibly fragmenting in a way that extended its visible track. Events like this remind us that the sky above is not always predictable, and that even in the age of modern observation, nature still produces phenomena that challenge our assumptions.

Randall Carlson

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Tuesday 22 September 2026 19:04:17 GMT