Fireball lights up skies over US capital

Witnesses in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia say they saw a fireball streaking across the sky on Saturday evening.

Witnesses say a possible fireball has been seen in the sky above Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Video captured by Alexander Salvador on a dashcam at 6:17 p.m. Saturday shows a streak streaming through the sky above Falls Church, Virginia. Observers described it as "huge" and "very bright" but then noted it fizzled, disintegrating into fragments.

According to NASA, a fireball is an unusually bright meteor that reaches a specific brightness.

There were hundreds of fireball sightings reported to the American Meteor Society, which tracks fireballs, across the northeast. The organization encourages eyewitnesses to log a report with a description on its website.

So far, there have been no reports of any fragments hitting the ground and no official word on what the object was.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
QR Code to Fireball lights up skies over US capital
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0131/Fireball-lights-up-skies-over-US-capital
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe