Arizona meteor: First videos show stunning flash across night skies (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)
A meteor flared across the sky over Phoenix, Arizona Thursday morning, reportedly waking many residents from their slumber with the sound of a loud bang as it passed.
Locals took to social media to question what the noise was, as others confirmed it was a meteor streaking through the sky.
See something fall out of the sky? Everyone thought I was crazy this morning, but turns out it was a meteor! #Tucson#Arizona
— Angelica Carrillo (@acarrillonews) June 2, 2016
Sky just lit up in the east like an explosion. Several flashes, with a trail. #Missile? #Meteor? #Meteorite#fountainhills#arizona#az
— The Perfect Yogi (@theperfectyogi) June 2, 2016
Heard the same thing. Whole house seemed to shake. #Meteor huh? It's Arizona. We're used to strange stuff, right? https://t.co/I4Ibd9TNFW
— David Leibowitz (@leiboaz) June 2, 2016
Did anyone else see that huge meteor over Phoenix Arizona? It left a trail of clouds
— Lee Myer (@PeakT) June 2, 2016
READ MORE: Extraterrestrial blade: King Tutankhamun’s dagger came from outer space
The first videos and photos of the meteor streak show a dramatic bright flare as the space rock fizzles overhead.
WOW! Surveillance video of possible meteor sent in by anonymous viewer! #12news#brightlightpic.twitter.com/fi8m6Mlyi9
— Bryan West (@bryanwestTV) June 2, 2016
Great dash cam of #meteor from a viewer Ian Schlueter #12News#Arizonapic.twitter.com/VWK8ajqOiw
— Daniel Clark (@dlclark12news) June 2, 2016
Video of this morning's #meteor streaking across the sky courtesy Roosevelt School District in Phoenix, AZ pic.twitter.com/DETsx9rUjY
— Mike Robison (@mrobisonfox10) June 2, 2016
Did you see it?! Large flash seen over parts of Arizona tonight. Video from Sabrina Rossini. #azwx Share your pics pic.twitter.com/fcsRwTSqsg
— Ian Schwartz (@SchwartzTV) June 2, 2016
Photos of the trail of swirling smoke left behind have also been shared across social media.
A good amount of white smoke from the meteor that passed through the Arizona sky. pic.twitter.com/ZaCI9lqckr
— Alejo Benitez (@AleBen1994) June 2, 2016
JoeRodriguezII1 : cnnbrk #meteorite meteor over Mesa, Arizona pic.twitter.com/NKi0XrK4yP (via Twitter https://t.co/fSwidTtqZZ)
— Johnnie Rutledge (@mrJohnnieR) June 2, 2016
@melliinaa_ the meteor left a trail, thats so cool #fox10phoenixpic.twitter.com/xoPwyYz1qU
— melii (@melliinaa_) June 2, 2016
@abc15 meteor trail visible in #Maricopapic.twitter.com/sKpwmoHfBR
— Ethan (@EthanE_W2) June 2, 2016
Arizona, famously, is already home to a massive meteor crater.
An iron asteroid, some 98-164ft (30-50 meters) in diameter, impacted the Colorado Plateau in northern Arizona an estimated 50,000 years ago, resulting in an enormous crater nearly a mile (1.6km) wide and 570ft (174 meters) deep.
The US Geological Survey says the impact “exploded with the force of over 2 million tons of TNT” - about 150 times the power of the atomic bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima in World War II.
READ MORE: Meteor spectacularly shoots through sky in New York State (VIDEO)
