Bright fireball from peaking meteor shower lights up Massachusetts sky, NASA says
If you saw a bright light flash across the sky last night, there’s an explanation.
More than 100 people reported seeing a fireball streak across the sky in the Northeastern United States on Tuesday, Nov. 8, NASA’s Meteor Watch said in a Facebook post.
Known as a Taurid meteor, it was first spotted at 7:37 p.m. over Salem, Massachusetts.
Using EarthCams and a train station camera, analysts say they determined that the fireball first appeared about 58 miles above Salem. The meteor survived for about 2.5 seconds, traveling around 51 miles at 75,000 mph, before disintegrating 41 miles above Leominster.
Facebook users from surrounding areas, such as Philadelphia and Maine, commented that they had also spotted the fireball.
The spotting comes during an period of increased meteor activity.
Every year, around this time, Earth spends a couple months passing through a wide stream of cometary debris, which creates an increase in meteor activity known as a Taurid meteor shower, according to NASA.
Usually, only a few Taurids are visible from Earth, but some years, changes in these orbits cause an increase in the number of Taurids close to and visible from Earth, NASA said. This change leads to a “Taurid swarm,” when the number of visible fireballs jumps and can be seen by almost everyone.
This year, after starting on Sept. 28, the Taurids will be active through Dec. 2, according to the American Meteor Society. Peak activity was on Saturday, Nov. 5, but for the week following, “good activity” is expected.
This story was originally published November 9, 2022 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Bright fireball from peaking meteor shower lights up Massachusetts sky, NASA says."
