Maverick Co. Sheriffs Dept reported the ground shaking due to a #meteor landing around 8:45PM. Lots of confirmations in the area. #txwx
- NWS San Antonio (@NWSSanAntonio) November 9, 2014
Photo By NASA Earth Observatory/AFP/Getty Images
Photo By Jeff Schmaltz/NASA
Photo By Jeff Schmaltz/NASA
Photo By Kyodo News/Associated Press
Photo By Jesse Allen/NASA Earth Observatory
Photo By Jesse Allen/NASA Earth Observatory
Photo By Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press
Photo By NASA Earth Observatory
Photo By Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer / NASA
Photo By Associated Press
Photo By Jesse Allen / NASA Earth Observatory
Scientists at NASA have confirmed that a ball of light seen streaking across the Texas skies Saturday was a meteor and one so bright they call it a 'fireball.'
Hundreds reported seeing the bright green ball of light crossing the night sky above San Antonio, the event was even captured on video by a Hewitt police dashboard camera.
The meteor is clearly visible in that and in another video posted by a YouTube user after the sighting just before 9 p.m. Saturday.
'This was definitely what we call a fireball, which by definition is a meteor brighter than the planet Venus,' Dr. Bill Cooke, head of NASA's meteoroid environment office, told a news conference Sunday.
'This event was so bright that it was picked up on a NASA meteor camera in the mountains of New Mexico over 500 miles away, which makes it extremely unusual,' he said, according to CNN reports of the news conference. 'This was a very bright event.'
The meteor appears for several seconds, one enormous ball of light followed by the streak of a tail.
It prompted hundreds of calls to local authorities including the National Weather Service.
'All of them received reports of seeing a meteor,' said Trevor Boucher, meteorologist with the NWS. Officials at the weather service also shared a video of the event on their social media pages.
NASA officials studying the sighting have estimated the metoer was at least 4 feet wide and weighed more than 4,000 pounds, according to CNN. It burned five times brighter than a full moon.
Cooke told reporters it is possible that parts of the fireball hit the ground. Maverick County Sheriff's Department reported that NWS had confirmed the ground shook at around 8:45 p.m. Saturday.
'It could have been a sonic boom,' Boucher said. 'We won't know for sure if there was an impact on Mexico's side.'
NASA is now investigating where the meteor came from. Cooke said it may be fallout from the North Taurid meteor shower, which is apparently going on right now. Other ideas suggest it was part of a piece from the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, CNN said.
'A city dweller in the U.S. might expect to see events this bright once or twice per year,' Cooke said in the news conference. 'This one was around 8:40, so there were a lot of people outside and those events get a lot of notice, there would have been far fewer reports if it happens around 3 a.m.'
San Antonio Express-News repoter Jacob Beltran contributed to this report. Entities 0 Name: NASA Count: 6 1 Name: Cooke Count: 3 2 Name: CNN Count: 3 3 Name: NWS Count: 2 4 Name: Jeff Count: 2 5 Name: Heather Alexander Count: 1 6 Name: Trevor Boucher Count: 1 7 Name: Maverick County Sheriff 's Department Count: 1 8 Name: Jacob Beltran Count: 1 9 Name: Jesse Allen Count: 1 10 Name: North Taurid Count: 1 11 Name: New Mexico Count: 1 12 Name: Rich Count: 1 13 Name: San Antonio Express-News Count: 1 14 Name: Maverick Co. Count: 1 15 Name: Texas Count: 1 16 Name: Associated Press Count: 1 17 Name: NASA Earth Observatory Scientists Count: 1 18 Name: National Weather Service Count: 1 19 Name: Hewitt Count: 1 20 Name: San Antonio Count: 1 21 Name: Boucher Count: 1 22 Name: Kyodo News\/Associated Press Photo By Jesse Allen\/NASA Earth Observatory Photo By Jesse Allen\/NASA Earth Observatory Count: 1 23 Name: U.S. Count: 1 24 Name: Venus Count: 1 25 Name: Mexico Count: 1 26 Name: NASA Earth Observatory Count: 1 27 Name: NASA Earth Observatory\/AFP\/Getty Count: 1 28 Name: Dr. Bill Cooke Count: 1 29 Name: Jupiter Count: 1 30 Name: NWS San Antonio Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1wGWDyX Title: Fireball lit up Texas sky, NASA says Description: (CNN) -- What burns five times brighter than a full moon and flies through the air with its tail sticking out behind it? Many Texas residents reported seeing a meteor streaming across the Saturday night sky. They were right, but scientists are still investigating the details, said Dr. Bill Cooke, lead for NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.
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