Meteorologists search for fragments of meteor seen as fireball in the sky on April 10

If you were one of the dozens of people who saw a fireball shoot across the sky in early April, experts now believe it was a meteor and are searching for meteorite fragments in Delmarva.  

The American Meteor Society received 51 reports about a fireball, referred to as event 1842-2024, seen over Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and Connecticut on Wednesday, April 10, at around 3:44 a.m. 

Of those reports, four came from Delaware in the areas of Millsboro, Laurel, Wilmington and Townsend. 

The event was spotted in Millsboro at 3:43 a.m. and lasted about 1.5 seconds. The fireball was seen in Laurel at 3:43 a.m. and lasted about 3.5 seconds; in Wilmington at 3:43 a.m. and lasted about 1.5 seconds; and in Townsend and lasted for about 1.5 seconds. 

Other sightings in the region were logged between 3:34 a.m. and 4:15 a.m. Along with written reports of the fireball on April 10, 12 videos and two photos were posted by users of the phenomenon. 

Second April fireball:More than 100 people across 11 states spotted a fireball in the sky on April 13. Did you?

Now, researchers believe the fireball seen by many that night was a meteor.  

WBOC-TV, a Delmarva news station in Salisbury, Maryland, reported that in-house meteorologists Dan Satterfield and Lichniak are “confident of a meteor sighting” after reviewing footage from local sightings.  

Believing that the meteorite landed somewhere on the Delmarva Peninsula, members of the American Meteor Society were in the area on April 17 looking for fragments, WBOC-TV said.

In a newscast on the same day, WBOC-TV captured local meteorite hunters Roberto Vargas and Mike Hankey searching for the fragments in Federalsburg, Maryland. Meteorite fragments have yet to be found.

Got a tip or a story idea? Contact Krys'tal Griffin at kgriffin@delawareonline.com.