GREAT FALLS — KRTV received a brief video clip on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, from a man who was driving east just before 9 p.m. along 10th Avenue South in Great Falls.
He wrote: "I saw this tonight (March 12th) as I was going home. Not sure what it is, but it could be a meteorite. Looks like it might have hit somewhere on base, but not sure how far out it was."
KRTV Chief Meteorologist Ryan Dennis confirmed that it was likely a fireball (very bright meteor). There were many reports across Montana from people who saw it.
We have not received any reports about where the debris may have landed, and no reports that it hit or damaged any structures.
Meteoroids enter and burn up in Earth's atmosphere all the time, and these are called meteors.
Sometimes these meteors can be very bright (a fireball) if it is a larger meteoroid that is burning up in Earth's atmosphere.
Fireballs aren't actually all that rare, but many times they occur during the day or over uninhabited areas, so it tends to be pretty rare for people to see them.
Here is video of a similar incident from May 2024:
From the National Aeronatics & Space Administration (NASA) website:
What’s the difference between a meteoroid, a meteor, and a meteorite?
- Meteoroids: These rocks still are in space. Meteoroids range in size from dust grains to small asteroids.
- Meteors: When meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere (or that of another planet, like Mars) at high speed and burn up, the fireballs or “shooting stars” are called meteors.
- Meteorites: When a meteoroid survives a trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it’s called a meteorite.
