Bedford County: CCTV captures fireball light up sky
A spectacular fireball has dazzled the skies above northeastern USA. The meteor entered the atmosphere in the early hours of January 11, with some lucky enough to spot the fireball.
Footage from a person’s front door security camera caught the mesmerising moment on video.
The video shows a bright burst of light as the meteor penetrated the atmosphere, followed by a brief explosion shortly after.
When meteors produce such an intense burst of light, they are called a bolide.
Dozens of people flocked to the International Meteor Organisation (IMO) to report their sighting and detail their experience.
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Jeff told the IMO: “It had orange squiggly line behind the bright white ball.”
Chris said: “I never saw a shooting star like it before.”
An anonymous user submitted: “I was on my balcony of my apartment when I saw the shooting star.”
Fireballs occur when a meteor or another space rock hits the atmosphere.
Air seeps into the pores of the rock, pushing it apart and causing it to explode.
The International Meteor Organisation (IMO) said: “Fireballs are meteors that appear brighter than normal.
“Due to the velocity at which they strike the Earth’s atmosphere, fragments larger than one millimetre have the capability to produce a bright flash as they streak through the heavens above.
“These bright meteors are what we call fireballs and they often strike fear and awe for those who witness them.”
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Perhaps the most famous fireball in modern history came when a meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk in 2013.
The explosion, caused by a 65.6ft (20m) meteor, was so powerful it smashed windows across the city and injured more than 1,000 people.
In 1908, a small asteroid surprised Earth when it exploded over Siberia’s Tunguska, flattening woodlands across 800 miles.
The blast was so powerful it was equivalent to 30 megatons of TNT at an altitude of 6.2 to 9.3 miles (10 to 15km).
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