What’s behind the recent spike in meteor sightings across the US, Europe?
A spike in fireball sightings in March raises questions: Is this normal activity? American Meteor Society experts explain what the data shows.
NASA says a fireball breaking through the Earth's atmosphere was the cause of a loud boom heard by thousands on the morning of St. Patrick's Day.
A daytime fireball over western Europe on March 8 kicked off a streak of “extraordinary” meteor sightings across Europe and the United States over the past three weeks, with astronomers now working to understand what is driving this unusual cluster of major fireball events.
According to the American Meteor Society (AMS), at least eight bright meteors, known as fireballs, have been reported across more than a dozen U.S. states and parts of Europe since early March.
On March 17, a daytime meteor produced a sonic boom heard across Ohio and Pennsylvania, generating more than 200 witness reports submitted to the AMS.
Just days later, on March 21, another daytime fireball streaked across the sky over Houston, Texas. Activity continued on March 23, when two fireballs were spotted across California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada. The most recent sightings occurred March 24, when two fireballs were seen over the Great Lakes and Ontario, along with another event reported in the Southeast the same night.
While Earth is constantly bombarded by small space rocks, 2026 is shaping up to have a higher-than-average number of notable fireball events producing eyewitness reports.
Fireball reports in March 2026 with American Meteor Society data.
“In 2026, both the rate and the absolute count are high. Thirty large fireball events producing audible booms in a single quarter mean roughly one every three days,” said Mike Hankey, of the American Meteor Society, in an analysis of the recent events.
An AMS analysis of fireball trajectories and radiant points dating back to 2021 found a “meaningful clustering in two regions of the sky,” with a dominant source coming from a region opposite the sun known as the Anthelion radiant.
A bright daytime fireball seen over the Houston, Texas area on Saturday, March 21, 2026. (Image credit: Rafe Borne)
Still, the daytime fireballs observed over Germany and Ohio originated from different parts of the sky on unrelated orbits, according to Hankey, suggesting they are not linked to a single object or event.
So what is behind the recent surge in meteor activity?
Hankey said the most straightforward answer is that astronomers do not yet fully understand the cause. However, current data allow scientists to rule out some explanations.
It's not aliens.
“Every fireball in the AMS database with sufficient trajectory data is consistent with objects on heliocentric orbits — material orbiting the sun that intersects Earth’s path,” Hankey said. “The recovered specimens from Ohio and Germany are achondritic eucrites with mineral compositions formed over billions of years on differentiated asteroids. These are rocks from the inner solar system. There is no evidence of anomalous trajectory behavior, controlled flight or non-natural composition.”
As for whether this could signal a new meteor shower, Hankey said the increased activity is tied to the Anthelion sporadic source rather than a defined radiant point. Unlike meteor showers, which originate from a specific point in the sky, sporadic meteors can appear from broader regions.
Another factor may be increased reporting. With improved technology and wider use of AI-driven tools, more witnesses may be submitting fireball sightings to the AMS. However, Hankey said that alone does not explain the rise in sonic booms or confirmed meteorite recoveries.
For now, the data point to a noticeable shift in recent meteor activity — one that scientists say is worth continued observation.
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