NASA confirms 'fireball' lights up Texas sky

Scientists at NASA have confirmed that a ball of light seen streaking across the Texas skies Saturday was a meteor and one so bright they call it a "fireball."

Hundreds reported seeing the bright green ball of light crossing the night sky above San Antonio, the event was even captured on video by a Hewitt police dashboard camera.

The meteor is clearly visible in that and in another video posted by a YouTube user after the sighting just before 9 p.m. Saturday.

"This was definitely what we call a fireball, which by definition is a meteor brighter than the planet Venus," Dr. Bill Cooke, head of NASA's meteoroid environment office, told a news conference Sunday.

"This event was so bright that it was picked up on a NASA meteor camera in the mountains of New Mexico over 500 miles away, which makes it extremely unusual," he said, according to CNN reports of the news conference. "This was a very bright event."

The meteor appears for several seconds, one enormous ball of light followed by the streak of a tail.

It prompted hundreds of calls to local authorities including the National Weather Service.

"All of them received reports of seeing a meteor," said TrevorBoucher, meteorologist with the NWS. Officials at the weather service also shared a video of the event on their social media pages.

NASA officials studying the sighting have estimated the metoer was at least 4 feet wide and weighed more than 4,000 pounds, according to CNN. It burned five times brighter than a full moon.

Cooke told reporters it is possible that parts of the fireball hit the ground. Maverick County Sheriff's Department reported that NWS had confirmed the ground shook at around 8:45 p.m. Saturday.

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NASA confirms 'fireball' lights up Texas sky

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