“Fireball” meteor lights up Colorado sky

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (KKTV) – What a sight over Colorado this morning!

Dozens of viewers report seeing a meteor light up the sky around 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning. Some were lucky enough to capture the view on camera!

“My thinking on this is pretty cool! I never saw it. It woke me up and it was an instant flash, ”Kellie Moothart told 11 News. Moothart, who lives in Falcon, captured the above video with his home camera.

Brian Onley from Trinidad saw the meteor as he made his morning coffee on Sunday. “At around 4.30am this morning, I got out for just a second while my coffee was brewing. It all happened in a second, a fireball came in and it had already cleared the clouds and headed straight for the ground … It erupted three times in the space of probably less than 100 yards and by the time it hit the ground, there was an eruption that lit up the entire northern sky above Trinidad, ”says Onley.

Bruce Bookout, professor at Pikes Peak Community College and member of the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society, confirms with 11 News that it was a “fireball” meteor. It’s not uncommon, but it’s very cool to see!

“He’s definitely a Bolide guy. There are several different types of meteors. The vast majority of what we see sticking out like this are all bits of commentary that broke in the trail and things like that or they could be random bits of the asteroid belt, ”says Bookout.

Bookout also tells 11 News that these types of meteors are very common and are easier to see with our dark Colorado skies. “It’s been happening for thousands and thousands of years and it’s normal little rocks that are burning. It does not matter, it happens all the time and it is very very common. It’s nice to find a good, bright enough fireball but it’s a small moment event and it’s over, nothing lingers, nothing bad and we don’t have to play the old superstition games of the falling sky and all that. It’s just a rock and it got hot and destroyed itself.

If you have a photo or video of the meteor add it to the album below!

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