Did you see an object streak across the sky in a flash of green light early Thursday morning?
Update 4:30 pm: Yes, that was indeed a fireball that some eagle-eyed Coloradans spotted in the wee hours! The American Meteor Society confirms:
significant fireball over wyoming this morning. http://t.co/2blhzWUSo0 #fireball
— AMSMETEORS (@amsmeteors) March 28, 2013
Nice work by those who filled out a fireball report!
Update 2:15 pm: We still have no idea what it was that flashed so brilliantly across the northern Colorado sky early this morning. Most likely it was a meteor -- but nobody has yet ruled out an alien invasion. (The truth is out there…)
Thanks to everyone who commented and/or tweeted us about it!
Reddit user Jayshwa witnessed the predawn fireball:
I saw it! It freaked me out until there was no explosion. I swear it had to have hit the ground. Ive never seen a green one before.
And Mary M had this to say in her fireball report to the American Meteor Society:
“Stellar!!! I'm glad I got to see it, will probably never get the chance to see something like this again.”
If you’re curious, the AMS has a great FAQ on fireballs. Perhaps soon they can give us a definitive answer on what caused those spectacular celestial fireworks.
Our original story continues…
A few reports have been coming in from people who saw something unusual in the Loveland area – a large flash of brilliant green light, followed by green trailers.
KUNC got a call early this morning from Shawn, who commutes from Loveland to Laramie, Wyoming each day. He said it looked like something might have hit the ground near Livermore.
Just had a call about a possible #meteor streaking over sky near Livermore, Colo. Curious if anyone saw anything about 5:50 Thu am?
— Erin O'Toole 🧜♀️ (@ErinOtoole1) March 28, 2013
A few other reports came in on Twitter as well:
@ErinOtoole1 It was a beautiful teal color!
— COMPASS (@LarimerCoStats) March 28, 2013
@ErinOtoole1 Yes we saw that here in Loveland, Colo.
— Don Evenson (@donevenson) March 28, 2013
KUNC's Digital Media Manager Jim Hill commutes to Northern Colorado from Denver early in the morning. He saw it too just as he was approaching Highway 52.
@ErinOtoole1 I saw it too. Amazingly bright and green. Seemed familiar, wasn't that the start of a Superman movie?
— Jim Hill (@ejimbo_com) March 28, 2013
9 News is reporting that they’ve talked with several local police departments that received calls about the light – and even a police and a fire dispatcher who say they saw it themselves. Had we all been living in Russia, we may very well have had video by now given the prevalence of car dash cams. That's how the meteor crash of February was caught.
What the object is exactly is still a mystery, though it’s most likely a meteor. Did you see it? Let us know in the comments or tweet me: @ErinOtoole1
You can also report it to the American Meteor Society. A link to their fireball report form is here.
