A bright fireball was reportedly seen blazing over several states along the East Coast Tuesday, stunning hundreds of eagle-eyed witnesses.
Between 3 and 4 p.m. on a particularly sunny afternoon, nearly 200 spectators submitted sighting reports of the phenomenon to the American Meteor Society, according to its tracker.
Most of the flabbergasted onlookers claimed they saw a bright flash overhead, followed by several green-colored fragments streaking across the sky — before entirely dissipating into the air.
The reports indicate that one, of several, fireballs soared between the Carolinas and New York, although it is unclear which direction it traveled in.
Startled Garden Staters took to Facebook and described hearing loud booms that shook some homes around the same time the fireball was seen in the area, NJ.com first reported.
Beyond social media, residents in 13 of Jersey’s 21 counties shared their sightings with the AMS.
One woman in Rockaway, New Jersey said that the blaze faded from silver to green before splintering into four pieces, according to her AMS repo.
Another witness in New Hope, Pennsylvania was shocked that the fireball “was bright enough to see during a very sunny afternoon.”
A skeptic who saw it from somewhere in the Empire State “thought at first maybe missiles were passing over but hopefully not in NYC,” their report said.
In July 2024, a meteor burned while soaring over the Statue of Liberty at a staggering 34,000 mph.
Although nearly identical to a meteor, a fireball is distinctly defined by its brightness, according to the AWS.
