Green Fireball Shoots Across VA, DC Sky, Stumping Scientists

WASHINGTON, DC — A Taurid fireball was spotted through the sky recently by several mid-Atlantic residents — including people in Virginia, the District of Columbia and Maryland — as well as nearly 500 other people in the country, according to the American Meteor Society.

Many thought it was the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Space X Crew Dragon, but most of the people who saw the bright-green fireball on Nov. 10 were outside the area of the Space X launch, the society said.

American Meteor Society reported the fireball was mainly seen in North Carolina, but also spotted by witnesses in Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Delaware, and Georgia.

As to what it was? Well, no one knows for sure.

"At its brightest, the fireball rivaled the Full Moon, suggesting it was caused by an object roughly 45 pounds (20 kg) in weight and 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter. The low speed could imply an asteroidal origin," American Meteor Society said.

A Twitter thread started where people in several states swapped their fireball-sighting stories.

Did you see it? Tell Patch readers in comments.

Like this article? Sign up for our newsletter and get it delivered daily. It's free!

American Meteor Society also got video of the fireball:

Patch Editor Samantha Mercado contributed to this story.