| Online: | |
| Visits: | |
| Stories: |
| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
If You Saw a Fireball in the Sky Sunday night in Central New York You’re Not Alone
Tuesday, February 25, 2014 2:11
% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.
It wasn’t a bird or a plane and it certainly wasn’t Superman. If you found yourself gazing at a colorful, firework-like flash of light in the sky, it was probably a meteoroid.
Dozens of people across New York State, as well as several in Central New York, reported seeing a meteoroid in the sky at about 8:45 p.m. Sunday, according to the American Meteor Society.
The scientific organization devoted to the study, investigation and tracking of meteors allows the public and trained spotters to report sightings of fireballs — meteors brighter than the planet Venus — online. Sunday’s suspected meteoroid probably ended up somewhere in the Adirondacks, according to submitted reports.
Ethan Rogati captured this stunning view of the meteor from Milton, V.T.. It was reportedly seen as far south as Albany, and as far north as Montreal.
People across Central New Yorkdescribed the sight in reports to the American Meteor Society.
“I was driving south when something as bright as the moon caught my eye to my left,” said Drew Montreuil, a meteorologist in Groton. “I looked and saw a green fireball that appeared in my quick glance to be sparking red. It disappeared shortly thereafter.”
A man in Oswego reported the meteoroid appeared to be light green and white. Kathleen R., of Jamesville, saw light blue, orange and white.
“Never saw one so ‘close’, or so bright and large before,” she said.
Here are some descriptions from other people in Central New York who reported spotting the meteoroid to the American Meteor Society:
Jason W., Baldwinsville
“Appeared to break into several pieces. Glowing and appeared like a firework rocket with sparks trailing it. Amazing show! My first thought was that it was a firework because it was so bright and pronounced.”
Samuel W., Oswego
“I saw it enter it was very bright when it came in and then I watched it come straight down at a slight angle and it got brighter and brighter like looking at a street light.”
Carol B., Camillus
“It was incredibly bright green, followed by a whitish gold tail. It was quite large and low. It looked like a firework. Amazing.”
Nick J., New Hartford
“This was a very large and bright object not normal to the area. The flash was about 1-2 seconds after I first saw it, then continued to burn for about 1 more second.”
Though people usually remark at the beauty and uniqueness of meteors, they are actually very common. A couple thousand enter Earth’s atmosphere every day. Most, however, occur over oceans and uninhabited areas, or are masked by daylight.
If you saw the meteoroid Sunday night, you can still report it to the American Meteor Society online
Want to post a comment? CLICK HERE
