Nature

Fireball Spotted Over the Gulf of Mexico, Seen Across States

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Tony Maples Photography

 

On November 21st, something strange happened over the Gulf of Mexico. Around 11:15 p.m., people noticed a bright ball of light falling from the sky. It momentarily turned night into day and disappeared quickly below the horizon line. According to the Bradenton Herald, people reported seeing it all the way in Atlanta. But what could cause such a confusing and beautiful sight?

The news spoke with Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office who assured everyone that it wasn’t something sinister and it wasn’t aliens, it was an extremely bright meteor falling over the Gulf waters about 8 miles away from Sarasota, Florida. These blazingly vivid meteors are also called fireballs.

According to Tech Times, “The object was classified as a bolide, not a superbolide, and it produced no damage in the areas where it was seen. A number of approximately 500,000 fireballs pass around our planet every year, which makes the phenomenon not that uncommon.”

Some people say they thought the bright light was coming from headlights moving toward them, and others thought that perhaps it was an explosion or a flare. Even though the mystery has been solved, people around the world are taking interest in the video in which two North Port Police Department patrol cars’ dash cams caught the fireball on film.