UFO Explodes Over South Carolina?? 2012

Many people across the Upstate called FOX Carolina and said they were awakened by a loud boom and flash of light early Monday morning.

Most of the reports of the unusual phenomenon came from people living in Cherokee, Spartanburg and Greenville counties at about 1:45 a.m.

Officials at the National Weather Service at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport said that based on eyewitness reports, the event was likely a meteor.

The Weather Service said there was a flash in the sky about 1:46 a.m. and they recorded a very faint flash with their cameras.

Spartanburg police told the Weather Service that they had received numerous calls from the public. They said that one of their officers said they saw a flash light up their car and saw various pieces disintegrate in the sky.

Greenville resident Joseph Fidler sent security camera video from his home showing a bright light illuminating his neighborhood and a reflection of the meteor in the windshield of his car below.

Stuart McDaniel, of Lawndale, NC, sent in video to FOX Carolina that shows a large fireball streaking across the lower horizon at about the same time as the meteor was reported in the Upstate.

Dr. Scott Howard, a geologist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, said the chances of finding a meteorite are very slim. He said only six have ever been found in South Carolina, three of which were found in the Upstate.

Howard said objects coming into the atmosphere, known as meteors, are common and are usually called shooting stars. He said if something hits the ground, it is then called a meteorite.