A bright fireball streaking across central California drew widespread attention overnight, with experts saying it was likely a meteor entering the atmosphere.
Mike Hankey, operations manager for the American Meteor Society, said the organization received more than 200 reports through its website and app, placing the event south of Sacramento.
“A fireball meteor came into the atmosphere, and… it was a small rock from an asteroid, fragment from an asteroid,” Hankey said.
He said reports of rumbling or booming sounds in the area suggest the object made it deep into the atmosphere before breaking apart.
The sighting comes amid a string of recent meteor events. Hankey pointed to a large daytime fireball in Ohio about a week earlier, as well as a meteorite that went through a house in Texas days later.
Despite the timing, Hankey said all these events are likely unrelated.
“Typically, they would be considered random events,” he said, noting that connecting them would require detailed analysis of their paths or physical composition.
Still, he said there tends to be an increase in fireball activity in February, a pattern observed over years of tracking data, though there is no clear scientific explanation.
Some images online showed the fireball glowing bright green, a color Hankey said can actually occur. However, he noted that perception can vary depending on cameras or lighting conditions, but meteors are often seen in shades of green or blue, as well as white, orange or red.
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