CLEVELAND, Ohio — The sonic boom of a meteor entering the atmosphere above Northeast Ohio at 8:56 a.m. Tuesday had people cracking jokes about hiding the dinosaurs or wondering where astronaut Ben Affleck is when you need him — after quickly checking outside to make sure everything was OK, of course.
According to NASA, the fireball, dubbed “Chicken Little,” was caused by a small asteroid roughly 6 feet in diameter and weighing about 7 tons. It traveled about 34 miles through the upper atmosphere before fragmenting roughly 30 miles above Valley City. Those fragments continued south, producing meteorites in the vicinity of Medina County.
A meteor is the streak of light produced when a space rock enters Earth’s atmosphere. If it hits the ground, it becomes a meteorite.
These objects, along with their larger asteroid parents and icy, tail-trailing comets, can cause significant damage. It’s an apocalyptic scenario that has played out on the big screen many times.
Here’s a look at five memorable meteor, asteroid or comet movies.
Bonus: “Superman” (2025)
This one comes with an asterisk. It’s not a disaster movie, but it does feature meteors in Cleveland — sort of. The Metropolis Meteors is the fictional baseball team whose ballpark is the site of a battle between Superman (David Corenswet) and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) against Ultraman and The Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría). The sequence was shot at Progressive Field in July 2024.
Which begs the question: What did director James Gunn know?
Stream: HBO Max
5. “Meteor” (1979)
Sean Connery and Natalie Wood star as American and Soviet scientists racing to stop a massive asteroid fragment, part of a larger object named Orpheus, from colliding with Earth, all while navigating Cold War tensions. Despite the title, the threat is not technically a meteor but an asteroid fragment.
Stream: Prime Video
4. “Greenland” (2020)
Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin play an estranged couple trying to reach safety with their young son as fragments of a planet-killing comet rain down on Earth. A sequel released in January follows the family as they search for a new home in the aftermath of the disaster.
Stream: HBO Max
3. “Don’t Look Up” (2021)
Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence play astronomers haplessly trying to convince the government and public that a comet on a crash course with Earth poses an existential threat. The film doubles as an allegory for climate change and features an all-star cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, Ariana Grande, Tyler Perry and Meryl Streep.
Stream: Netflix
2. “Deep Impact” (1998)
Morgan Freeman, Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni and Elijah Wood star in this film about humanity’s efforts — from everyday citizens to leaders in Washington — to survive or destroy a 7-mile-wide comet headed for Earth.
Stream: Prime Video
1. “Armageddon” (1998)
The undisputed winner of the great asteroid movie war of 1998, director Michael Bay’s blockbuster follows a ragtag team of oil drillers, including Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck and Owen Wilson, sent into space to destroy an asteroid the size of Texas. If Liv Tyler saying goodbye to her father as Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” plays doesn’t get to you, well, the asteroid has already won.