Hundreds Report Seeing Fireball Shoot Across PA Skies

PENNSYLVANIA — A bright light flashing across the skies Monday night caught the eye of many residents in Pennsylvania and across the East Coast.

The American Meteor Society had more than 230 people in the eastern U.S. report seeing the bright fireball, sometime between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Monday evening.

On the AMS website, many residents reported seeing a greenish light streak through the sky, while others say they saw more traditional reddish or white fireball. A number of people in the Philadelphia area logged sightings of the meteor, along with a smaller number in the Pittsburgh metro and a few others throughout the rest of the state.

One of the Taurid meteor showers was at its peak on Sunday and Monday. This long-running meteor shower is known for bright fireballs, so it's possible it was one of those meteors that people saw in the sky.

Places where people in Pennsylvania saw the meteor include Bensalem, Chester, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Phoenixville, Pittsburgh, Pottsville, Reading, Sewickley, Upper Saint Clair, and West Chester. One Philly resident said it "was one of the most interesting things I've ever seen."

Another in Chester Springs said, "I have observed multiple fireballs, but have never seen one this bright green."

This meteor was seen as far north as Toronto and as far south as Richmond, Va. Sightings also stretched as far west as Grand Rapids, Mich. Some people in New York State in Connecticut also reported seeing the fireball.

You can see it in these two videos posted from the Washington, D.C. area.

The final supermoon of the year will also rise on Friday, with the Leonid meteor shower peaking late next Sunday night, Nov. 17., into Monday.