Did you see a fireball in the sky Tuesday afternoon in the Lehigh Valley? Officials claim a meteor could be seen in Pennsylvania and through New Jersey, New York and Delaware.
NASA said in a social media post that eyewitnesses reported a daytime fireball about 2:34 p.m. Tuesday, with first visibility being reported 48 miles above the Atlantic Ocean, off the shore of Mastic Beach on Long Island.
Moving southwest at 30,000 mph, it traveled 117 miles through the upper atmosphere before disintegrating 27 miles above the New Jersey town of Galloway, north of Atlantic City, according to NASA.
The American Meteor Society reported 260 sightings of the fireball Tuesday afternoon, five of which were from the Lehigh Valley.
One spotter reported seeing the fireball in Northampton, noting they had never seen one in the daytime “so bright,” adding that it was a very nice shade of blue. Another spotter reported seeing one from Breinigsville, noting the “speed and glow” made it “almost certain” that it was a meteor.
NASA said it is common to see meteors between February and April, and that sightings can increase 10% to 30% during that time. It is not clear why that is the case, though NASA noted some astronomers think the Earth passes more large debris during that timeframe.