News

Fireball That Crossed California Sky Was a Meteor, Scientists Say

By Jennifer Broderick | Update Date: Nov 07, 2013 08:37 PM EST

A strange fireball crossed the California skies, from Santa Barbara to San Diego, reported ABC News.

According to forecasters, the flaming flying object was most likely a meteor, which caught scientists completely by surprise.

Witnesses accounts point that the fireball was “bright yellowish and blue” as it fell from the sky.

The sighting was registered at about 8 pm on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service, and scientists believe that it was most likely associated with the South Taurids (TOHR-ids) meteor shower which has been particularly active in November.

The Taurids, researchers say, don't bring big numbers of visible meteors but a high percentage of extremely bright ones that look like fireballs.

All in all, about 150 reports of witnesses were registered at the American Meteor Society. And according to those reports, the fireball, although observed primarily in Southern California, was spotted as well by people in Arizona, Nevada and Utah.

On October 30th, 360 people witnessed and reported the sighting of another fireball, which according to them, crossed the skies over the Pacific Northwest and Southwest of Canada.

As expected, social media exploded with the reports and images of the fireball.

Twitter user @Casheets described seeing the fireball from San Gabriel.

“I saw a meteor tonight, the coolest scariest thing I’ve ever seen,” she posted. “At first I thought it was a firework.”

© 2023 Counsel & Heal All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics