Residents in the U.S. Southwest witnessed a bright meteor, also known as a "fireball" event, streak across the night sky, which was captured on videos provided to the American Meteor Society.
The American Meteor Society said the meteor was witnessed at about 7 p.m. local time on Monday. One video filmed in Peoria, Arizona, shows a bright light flashing across a clear, dark sky — creating a multi-colored light show, Telemundo Arizona reports.
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People also reported seeing the fireball event in Utah, California and Nevada.
AMS said the event on Monday was first sighted 48 miles above the area of White Hills in northwestern Arizona, moving northwest at 30,500 miles per hour. AMS also said meteor activity is currently high due to the Orionid shower, which occurs when Earth passes through debris left behind by Halley's Comet.
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Space Coverage:
"The object managed to survive traveling over 42 miles through the upper atmosphere before breaking up 28 miles above Boulder City in southern Nevada. The meteor had two major fragmentation events, as the videos show two very bright flares near the end of its trajectory," AMS said in a statement. "The fireball was brighter than the Full Moon, which means it was caused by an asteroidal fragment weighing at least 70 pounds and greater than a foot in diameter."
The Orionids meteor shower has already reached its peak activity, but stargazers can still see the light show until Nov. 22.
