BRIGHTNESS OF METEOR!!
far west as California and south into Colorado
SALT LAKE CITY -- A fast moving meteor lit up the night skies over most of Utah just after midnight Wednesday, November 18th.
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KSL News received hundreds of calls from people who saw it, from southern Utah to southern Idaho. There also are reports of people seeing it from Las Vegas and areas of California. Witnesses reported a flash so bright it lit up the entire sky for a couple of seconds.
Don White was in Wyoming and told KSL Newsradio for a moment he suspected a nuclear strike. "With something that brilliant and that fast, it was like, whoa, did we just get hit or something? It would have been some bigger noise I guess if a nuclear device had gone off," he said.
"It lasted for about eight to 10 seconds," he continued. "I think for about the last three to four seconds of that it was as light as day. I could see the bushes off to the right of the road. It was completely lit up. You'll see the meteors flying across the sky and everything, but I've never seen one come that close."
Some people also reported a slight rumbling sound a few seconds after the flash. One caller told us it knocked a few items off her shelf.
One resident who lives in Cedar City said she could see the mountains and her grass for a few seconds.
Another resident in Bountiful said the sky was so bright, it shut off the light-sensored street lights for a few seconds.
Patrick Wiggins, who is a NASA ambassador living in Tooele County, said the bright light is most likely a bolide meteor.
The Earth is passing the Leonids right now, which is one of the most spectacular meteor shower shows that can be seen every year.
Wiggins said a bolide meteor creates an intense flash that is rare but happens from time to time.
According to Wiggins, it's also possible the meteor may have broken apart in our atmosphere causing some rocks to land, though the size of the rocks wouldn't be very large.
However, with reports from people who've seen the flash coming in from such a large area, Wiggins said the chances of somebody actually finding a meteor rock are small.
RELATED:
SpaceWeather.com | EXPLODING METEOR: A remarkable midnight fireball that "turned night into day" over parts of the western United States last night was not a Leonid. Infrasound measurements suggest a sporadic asteroid not associated with the Leonid debris stream. The space rock exploded in the atmosphere with an energy equivalent to 0.5 - 1 kilotons of TNT. Approximately 6 hours later, observers in Utah and Colorado witnessed a twisting iridescent-blue cloud in the dawn sky. Debris from the fireball should have disipated by that time, but the cloud remains unexplained; we cannot yet rule out a connection to the fireball event. Stay tuned for further analysis. videos: #1, #2.
Idaho's NewsChannel 7 | Meteor lit up night sky, caught on video
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BOISE - A number of people called our newsroom, e-mailed us, and were talking about it on Twitter.
A meteor streaked across the night sky-- lighting it up as if it were daytime.
The phone was ringing off the hook at Ada County dispatch and the Boise Airport as well.
Some viewers described it as the biggest thing they have ever seen-- with a long flame trailing behind it.
"At first I saw a little bright light, it was yellow, after about five to ten seconds it turned into a giant green fireball that was probably about the size of the moon. It was pretty amazing." said James Callahan. "It did scare me, luckily there were no other cars around me, because it did stop me dead on the road right there."
One person saw it from the WalMart parking lot on Glenwood and said it lit up the entire sky.
KSL, our NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City, reported the ground shaking as it zipped through, one viewer claiming it even shook his outside door open.
Ward Riley was driving when a friend called him to ask if he had seen the meteor.
"When the meteor went over, some lights in Twin Falls went out. A friend of mine was driving through Mountain Home at the same time and he said he noticed some of the light-censored street lights went out." said Ward Riley. "It was so bright, at first I thought maybe the wind hit a transformer and exploded it but it was a lot brighter than that. It was like the morning sun had just come up over the hill."
Riley said both of them noticed several light-censored street lamps turn off in Twin Falls and Mountain Home because the flash was so bright.
An expert says the earth is passing the Leonid Meteor Shower, which is one of the most spectacular meteor showers that can be seen each year.
The meteor was seen as far north as Wyoming, and as far west as California and south into Colorado.
February of 2008 was the last time there was a meteor sighting in the Treasure Valley.
