Fireball Meteor Lights Up Missouri Sky

MISSOURI — More than 200 people across Missouri and seven other states spotted a fireball meteor last night light as it lit up the Midwestern sky, KMOV reports. The American Meteor Society posted observer accounts and several videos of the sighting to its website Tuesday.

"It was super bright..." said Lisa B. in Ellisville, Missouri, who filed a report with the group. "We said, what IS that?!? Omg it’s a fireball, I have to get my camera. Then tried to open my camera and the trail was all that was left."

Some observers said the meteor appeared to break up into several pieces before disappearing.

"Incredible, chilling sight," said Darren M. in St. Louis. "So big and bright I honestly thought a plan[e] was crashing and felt terror. Then when it became obvious it was a fireball I felt relieved and so lucky to have seen it. Just wow."

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Meteors are small rocks or other pieces of debris that heat up as they enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn in a bright burst of light as they zip across the sky at hypersonic speeds — up to 160,000 miles per hour.

Most meteors are about the size of a grain of sand, but slightly larger ones can make for impressive fireballs. If a meteor makes it all the way to the ground without burning up, it's called a meteorite — but there's no indication that this one did.

Earth recently traveled through the icy debris field left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle, which triggers the yearly Perseid meteor shower, but meteors can occur at any time, experts say.

If you saw last night's fireball, you can report it to the American Meteor Society. We'd also like to know about it here at Patch. Email your photos to your local editor at ryne.danielson@patch.com and we'll share them in a follow-up story.

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