Lower than one week after quite a few folks reported seeing a fireball throughout the East Coast, one other one was noticed in Colorado that appeared brighter because it lit the night time sky blue.
The American Meteor Society mentioned they obtained 50 reviews from folks in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico who noticed a fireball round 4:30 a.m. Sunday.
Based on the society, a fireball is a meteor that illuminates the sky brighter than Venus, the brightest planet in our photo voltaic system.
Of the reported sightings, 12 had been caught on video and 4 by way of images. One video from a Colorado residence reveals the fireball turning the night time sky a brilliant blue.
Watch: Digicam captures fireball streaking throughout the sky in North Carolina
Josh Ellis, a resident of Evergreen, lower than 20 miles southwest of Denver, instructed CBS Denver the sunshine was brilliant sufficient to cost his photo voltaic panels.
Chris Peterson, who works on the Cloudbait Observatory in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, instructed the outlet the fireball was “descending very deep.”
“Ten or 20 miles might not appear very near the bottom, however after we take into consideration typical burning stars, we’re seeing issues which might be burning up 60 to 70 miles excessive,” he mentioned.
Whereas the pace of the fireball has not been decided, they’ll enter Earth’s environment from 25,000 to 160,000 miles per hour earlier than quickly decelerating, in response to the American Meteor Society. NASA says fireballs do not usually keep intact whereas passing by way of Earth’s environment, and generally fragments, or meteorites, could be recovered on the bottom.
Peterson mentioned “there is a good likelihood” there are a number of kilos of meteor particles on the bottom in Colorado.
The fireball seen across the Rocky Mountains comes lower than per week after NASA reported a fireball falling throughout the North Carolina coast at 32,000 miles per hour. The American Meteor Society mentioned they obtained 148 reviews of that fireball seen in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.
Whereas they could appear uncommon, the group says a number of thousand fireballs seem in Earth’s environment every day, however they primarily go undetected since they happen within the daylight, or over oceans and uninhabited areas. Even at night time, some folks might not discover them the second they happen.
Observe Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.