The bright light streaking across the sky Friday night spotted by many observers along the East Coast was probably a meteor, according to a NASA scientist.
The flash was probably a "single meteor event," Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environmental Office told the
Twitter and other social media blew up with reports of a meteor falling from the sky at approximately 8 p.m. Friday evening from the eastern United States and Canada -- though at least one often-shared photo claiming to show the meteor was confirmed to be a fake.
Meteor over New York City?— Dan Lopez (@4danlopez) March 23, 2013
Did anyone see the exploding "meteor" looking north towards New York at about 7:50pm this evening? What a sight!— Terry Hill (@auzzie22314) March 23, 2013
Saw a meteorite burn up in the atmosphere on the New York/New Jersey line. It was below cloud level #amazing— Sean Leary (@Seannwl) March 23, 2013
Video purporting to show the fireball was soon uploaded to YouTube as well. Hundreds of amateur skywatchers also reported spotting the meteor on a website which collects such sightings.
Did you spot the space rock? What did it look like? Share in the comments.