Stunning video shows the moment a streaking FIREBALL lights up the Florida sky – leading a sheriff’s office to joke about ‘intergalactic invaders’
- More than 20 people in South Florida reported seeing a bright fireball in the sky overnight
- The object, believed to be space junk, broke into pieces mid-flight
- Source of the flaming debris flaming debris possibly came from a Chinese satellite, labeled CZ-3B R/B, that was launched in 2015
Residents of Florida who happened to be up at around 2am this morning were treated to an unusual sight of a fireball streaking across the dark sky.
More than 20 people from as far north as Jacksonville to as far south as Key West reported seeing the celestial display on the American Meteor Society’s website.
Some were so alarmed by the vision that they called 911 to report the fireball.
More than 20 people in South Florida reported seeing a bright fireball in the sky overnight. The object broke into pieces mid-flight
The fireball, believed to be space junk, was sighted sometime after 2.15am from Jacksonville to Key West, Florida, Wednesday
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office took to Twitter to jokingly reassure local residents that the area was not under attack from extraterrestrial aliens.
‘No, we were not invaded last night by Martians but we appreciate the level of confidence you have of us to stop intergalactic invaders,’ the tweet read, accompanied by three spaceship emojis.
On a more serious note, Mike Hankey, the operations manager for the American Meteor Society, told Palm Beach Post that the fireball, which broke into multiple pieces in the skies over South Florida, was most likely a piece of space junk.
The source of the flaming debris was possibly a Chinese satellite, labeled CZ-3B R/B, that was launched in 2015.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office got in on the fun after getting 911 calls about the fireball
An alternative explanation for the fireball is that it might have been part of the Alpha Capricornids meteor shower, which is currently active
Leslie Findley told the television station WPTV she was in Boynton Beach sometime after 2.15am when she saw an ‘elongated orange stream flowing from the west coast of Florida to the east coast.’
She said the fireball streaked through the sky for 30 to 45 seconds, leaving her ‘quite shocked.’
Paxton Fell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, said her office is looking into the event.
As of late Wednesday morning, NASA has not weighed in on the incident.