Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison astronomy professor James Lattis said the southwest direction of the object means it was likely a meteoroid and not a piece of space junk, which generally travels east.
He said it’s common to see meteors in the early morning hours in the Midwest because the region is facing forward in the earth’s obit around the sun.
“It’s like looking out the windshield of your car,” he said. “You get more bugs on your windshield because that’s the direction you’re moving.”