See it: Origin of mysterious bright green light streaking across Maryland sky identified
Witnesses reported seeing it from as far south as Maryland and as far north as Ontario, Canada, with sightings also logged in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
Watch: Brilliant green fireball lights up Maryland skies
A dazzling green fireball streaked across the pre-dawn sky Saturday, captivating witnesses from Maryland to Ontario, Canada. What some initially described as a mysterious throbbing light racing behind the clouds has been confirmed as a meteoroid by the American Meteor Society.
HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. – The origin of a mysterious throbbing light racing behind clouds across parts of the northeastern U.S. and Canada over the weekend has been identified as a meteor, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS).
As many as nine reports were filed with the agency after the fireball was sighted burning up as it entered Earth's atmosphere about 3:45 a.m. ET Saturday. Witnesses reported seeing it from as far south as Maryland and as far north as Ontario, Canada, with sightings also logged in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
"Caught a magnificent green bolide meteor … SO BRIGHT," exclaimed Mid-Atlantic Severe Weather Alert on social media, sharing a video captured by their north-facing storm and aurora camera in Havre de Grace, Maryland.
Mid-Atlantic Severe Weather Alert shared a video of the fireball they captured with their north-facing storm and aurora camera in Havre de Grace, Maryland.
(Mid-Atlantic Severe Weather Alert Storm/Aurora Cam)
A fireball, astronomers explain, is simply a very bright meteor – brighter than magnitude -4, roughly equivalent to the brilliance of Venus in the morning or evening sky. A bolide is a specific type of fireball that culminates in a spectacular explosion of light, often accompanied by visible fragments.
The AMS said the vibrant colors often reported by those who witness fireballs are likely due to their extreme brightness, making them easily visible within the range of human color perception.
Although thousands of fireballs blaze through Earth's atmosphere daily, the AMS reports that most go unseen. They frequently occur over oceans or uninhabited areas, are obscured by daylight, or simply aren't noticed by the few people out at night.
The meteor witnessed on Saturday likely disintegrated upon entering the Earth's atmosphere. According to the AMS, a fireball must be brighter than magnitude -8 to -10 to have a chance of surviving atmospheric entry and reaching the ground as a meteorite.