Hundreds report blue-green orb zip across sky in SC and NC. Was it space junk?

Did you see a blue-green ball orb zip across the sky Thursday night?

You’re not alone.

Hundreds of people took to social media Thursday and Friday morning reporting seeing a bluish-green light in the sky that looked like it was falling to the earth. The sightings were reported from between 8:20 and 9 p.m. along the Grand Strand, neighboring North Carolina and even as far as Virginia.

From all indications, it appears that it may have been a meteor. But it also could have been space junk.

The National Weather Service in Wilmington, North Carolina, said it did not receive any reports of something being spotted in the sky.

Usually if something like that is seen, “We get a lot of reports right off the bat,” said Stephen Keebler, a NWS meteorologist. “I didn’t see anything on our shift log overnight.”

In addition, reports are often made during a SpaceX launch. However, the last launch for SpaceX was on Sept. 13.

Ian Hewitt, president of the Grand Strand Astronomers in Myrtle Beach and an astronomy lecturer at Coastal Carolina University, has a different theory.

“Usually when they are green, it’s a piece of space junk,” Hewitt said. “There’s a lot of stuff up there now.”

If it was a meteor, Hewitt said it’s not that unusual. They are amazingly bright because they are moving so fast, super heating the air. “It’s very cool when you see them,” he said.

Hewitt said the item could be as small as a grape or as large as a baseball. The item was probably pretty high if it was seen as far as Virginia, Hewitt said.

Ultimately, a representative with NASA said Friday that its meteor expert confirmed that it was a meteor seen Thursday night.

Meteors are the result of meteoroids which enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed and burn up, leaving a fireball or “shooting star,” according to NASA.

Meteors can be green, as well as other colors. The meteor’s color depends on its chemical composition, according to AccuWeather. For example, meteors made out of magnesium will appear to have a green or teal color.

Meteor showers can occur several times a year when the Earth passes through a field of debris.

Two of the best meteor showers of the year is the Perseid Meteor Shower, which occurs every August and the Geminid Meteor Shower, which peaks in mid-December.

The Geminid shower is known for producing intensely colored meteors.

This story was originally published September 18, 2026 at 10:51 AM with the headline “Hundreds report blue-green orb zip across sky in SC and NC. Was it space junk?.”