Meteor Lights Up New Hampshire Skies Day After Christmas

A likely meteor streaked across New Hampshire skies Tuesday night, according to multiple reports. Sightings were also reported in Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont. The object appeared to have burned up in the sky. There were no immediate reports that the object hit the ground.

Stephanie Clement was driving on Interstate 93 in Wilmington, Massachusetts, when she saw the object."It was huge!" Clement said in an email to Patch. "Looked bigger than a meteor, I feared a small plane crashing."

The American Meteor Society has yet to confirm that the object was a meteor. A webcam stationed at the Mount Agamenticus Conservation Region in Southern Maine captured the object streaking across the sky (pictured at top). Another webcam at the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, captured video of the meteor.

The sighting coincides with The Ursids meteor shower, which runs December 17 to 25. It produces about 5 to 10 meteors an hour, although occasional outbursts have produced 25 or more an hour. A full moon will wash out all but the brightest, however. The Ursids originate from the constellation Ursa Minor, and are produced by dust grains left behind by the comet Tuttle discovered in 1790. The best viewing times are after midnight.

Did you see the object? Tell us in the comments!

Lead photo: A likely meteor streaking over Northern New England December 26, 2017. (Credit: Mount Agamenticus Conservation Region)

Mike Carraggi (Patch National Staff) and Beth Dalbey (Patch National Staff) contributed to this report