Fireballs Seen In Washington Sky Monday Evening

Back-to-back fireballs strike through Washington’s sky Monday evening

The first occurred about 4:56 p.m., 10 minutes after sunset in Washington. It illuminated the twilight eastern horizon, burning vibrant shades of green, blue and white as it exploded in our atmosphere. It lasted about five to seven seconds as it fell, fragmenting into a number of smaller shards like a doomed firework.

The fireball “looked like an airplane going super fast but then disappeared about as quickly as I saw it,” commented Samantha Tungul, a Capital Weather Gang Facebook follower who witnessed the event in Prince William County.

Other eyewitnesses described it as “like a stray firework,” “green and slow moving,” and “an incredibly bright blue white streaking ball.”

The American Meteor Society received four dozen reports of the spectacle, from Richmond to Providence, R.I. The group synthesized each account, drawing upon information about the meteor’s apparent motion, color, bearing and speed. They concluded that the meteor likely entered Earth’s atmosphere off the southeastern shores of the Delmarva Peninsula, south of Ocean City, before either disintegrating and burning up or crashing into the water somewhere 100 miles to the east-northeast.

A second fireball

Before anyone could catch their breath, yet another fireball took the plunge into our skies, this time along Maryland’s northwestern border with Pennsylvania. This one was seen by fewer people around 6:42 p.m., lasting three or four seconds as it burned even more brilliantly than its predecessor. Preliminary data suggest that this one did not break up but, rather, was small enough to burn up fully.

Could this be an early treat from the Geminid meteor shower? 

Certainly. It is set to peak Thursday night into Friday, when more than 100 shooting stars per hour will streak overhead beneath dark, moonless skies. The Geminids are known for their fireballs — any meteor that penetrates deep into our atmosphere and is brighter than Venus.

There is a chance that Earth may be entering a narrow but unusually dense pocket of debris left in the wake of 3200 Phaethon, the asteroid responsible for igniting December’s annual meteor shower. That means this year could feature a particularly active and spectacular show.