Fly by night: Fireball streaks across Phoenix sky (VIDEO)
Residents of Phoenix, Arizona were treated to approximately four seconds of night-time daylight on Tuesday, as a suspected meteor burst through the Earth’s atmosphere and lit up the area.
The city tweeted footage of two fireballs streaking across the night sky, which had been captured by a security camera overlooking a number of public buildings. In the video, one meteor can be seen burning up in a flash above the clouds while another, smaller meteor extinguishes parallel to it.
Something BRILLIANT just flew across the Phoenix sky around 8:30 this evening! Check out what our Phoenix City Cam captured! Look to the right of this screen......#Meteor#Citycam#PHXpic.twitter.com/T3Zys30gXR
— City of Phoenix, AZ (@CityofPhoenixAZ) November 15, 2017
According to the American Meteor Society, there were 77 reports of fireballs over Arizona on Tuesday, with the majority of observers reporting that they saw the largest fireball. Meanwhile, Twitter users were similarly excited by the sight.
@NASA So, here in Arizona...just wondering. What the hell just wiped it’s space butt with Earths atmosphere?! Where was the “heads up!?” #meteor#arizona#didijustalmostdie#nasa#wtfjusthappened
— Just Gina (@SaturnianSavag3) November 15, 2017
Did anyone just see that the meteor or asteroid just now? I'm in Arizona and it turned night sky's into daylight#asteroid#Meteorite
— D Mo (@D_Mo2016) November 15, 2017
Wow, that was a fantastic meteor sighting in Arizona tonight. That was so bright!
— Mindy (@SongBird3411) November 15, 2017
Arizona has a long history of being struck by meteors. In June last year, residents of Phoenix reported being woken by the sound of loud banging as a meteor passed overhead.
READ MORE: Arizona meteor: First videos show stunning flash across night skies (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)
The state is also home to the Barringer Crater, a meteorite-impact crater north of Phoenix, which was created by a meteorite strike 50,000 years ago. It is now a popular tourist attraction in the state.
