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NASA tracked wild 'earthgrazer' meteor fireball for 186 miles through the air [cnet.com]:

Some meteors are fancier than others. Lucky skywatchers in the southeastern US were treated to a fantastic fireball on Tuesday night. Data from NASA shows it was quite a whopper, traveling 186 miles (300 kilometers) through the air.

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NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama tweeted [twitter.com] images of the fireball as captured by NASA meteor cameras. A map shows the trajectory stretched across George and into Alabama before ending above the town of Lutts, Tennessee.

NASA Meteor Watch, a group that brings together the work of meteor experts and amateur meteor watchers, gave an update on the fireball on Facebook on Wednesday [facebook.com]. "Last night's fireball over Georgia and Alabama was what we call an earthgrazer, in which the meteor's trajectory is so shallow it just skims across the upper atmosphere for a long distance."

The group described the event as "a rare meteor for those fortunate enough to see it." A video from a meteor camera [facebook.com] at the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, shows part of the fireball's path.

We're currently in a good fireball-watching season as the Taurid meteor shower is underway [cnet.com]. The Taurids are caused by dust and debris from an ancient comet. When those little bits hit the atmosphere, they can burn up into bright "shooting stars."

A good fireball like Tuesday's earthgrazer represents peak excitement for meteor fans. Check out our guide for viewing meteor showers [cnet.com] to give yourself the best chance at spotting one of these cosmic beauties for yourself.

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