Posted on 10/01/2020 12:16:29 AM PDT by nickcarraway
A streak of light and then a bright flash was seen cutting across the sky early on Wednesday morning.
Did you see it?
Early on Wednesday morning, several social media users in Pittsburgh and up and down the East Coast say they saw a bright flash of light and a streak in the sky.
The flash of light occurred just before 6:30 a.m. A trucker driving along I-76 in Pennsylvania was able to capture video of the flash from their dashcam.
The American Meteor Society, a nonprofit group, said it received more than 200 reports of a bright fireball over eastern Ohio. Robert Lunsford, a society official, said the fireball was most likely a random meteor not associated with any known meteor shower.
It takes an object only the size of a softball to create a flash as bright as the full moon, Lunsford said. This object was probably a bit larger, Lunsford said, but more analysis would be needed to determine its size.
KDKA spoke to a science writer who explained the fireball was most likely a meteor falling toward earth. While meteors aren’t rare, seeing one, especially one this bright, doesn’t happen often.
“We saw a really exceptional meteor, which is when a piece of debris from outer space, either rock or metal, hits the atmosphere,” said science writer Ralph Crewe.
Crewe says the speed of the meteor is what caused it to heat so quickly, and being able to see large fireballs like this one is rare.
“They actually happen pretty frequently but not usually in over-populated areas. Most of the earth is the ocean, so we’re lucky to get to see one like this,” he told KDKA’s Lisa Washington.
The American Meteor society said preliminary reports show the fireball traveled from southeast to northwest and ended its flight somewhere over North Benton, Ohio — about 77 miles from Pittsburgh.
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh said it was aware of the reports but had no information.
Officials at the University of Pittsburgh’s Allegheny Observatory did not immediately comment.
Oh, it was me. I took the TR-3B for a spin. Some late night Taco Bell.
That upper pic is a poorly done fake. Even a blind guy like me can see it as such.
Yup. Swapped the space shuttle out and shopped in the triangle.
Note how long the people’s shadows are. Late in the afternoon or early morning. However, shadow of triangle “craft” is from a light source high in the sky...
Also, Pittsburg station video... 30 second commercial for a 3 second meteor view?
Exactly what I noticed too. The shadows.
Yep- it’s on my profile page already - but thanks for sharing.
It was here for the debates, but ran a bit late.
Yeah originally I had it in my files as well, but couldn’t find it, so I borrowed and cropped yours.
I’ve long since lost the the original multi-panel cartoon it was from. *sigh*
I think I may have it somewhere - will look for it.
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