Fireball

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Cleveland – More than two dozen people from seven states – including Ohio — reported seeing a fireball in the sky over the weekend.

The American Meteor Society posted Monday on its website that 25 people submitted reports about the sighting Saturday, which apparently happened at about 7 p.m. Nearly half of the reports were from Ohio.

Here are a few of the narratives submitted by the observers:

“I was driving on SR 39 heading NW when I saw this very bright white ball with a tail in my left peripheral vision. I turned to look, saw it had a tail, then disappeared for a split second, then a bright flash and it was gone. Amazing and beautiful.” – Shelia H. / Millersburg, Ohio

“Smoky trail like a com trail. the head looked like it was glowing.” – Andrea S. / Cleveland, Ohio

“This is the second time I have witnessed a meteor during the day. I regularly view meteor showers during nights they are expected. It was very exciting. Just happened to be looking in the right direction at the right time!” – Linda F. / Green, Ohio

NewsChannel5 reporter Paul Kiska saw the fireball, too. He also submitted a report:

“I’ve seen a few meteor showers and but never a fireball this huge, this bright, this beautiful!”

Kiska also posted this description on his Facebook page:

“Around 6:50PM Saturday, about 20 minutes ago, I just saw the most stunning, amazing meteor of my life blazing, burning & glowing from east to west mostly across the south to southwest sky. Remarkable. It really was breath taking. Angela, Olivia & I were at the park kicking the soccer ball, still twilight, and I tried to yell to them but the words didn’t even come out at first then I yelled meteor meteor meteor, but they kept looking straight up, I was pointing but it was low southwest and lasted quite long time it seemed. Just beautiful.”

People in Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia all posted reports.

Chief Meteorologist Mark Johnson said this was not the Comet Pan-STARRS , which was expected to be seen this past weekend as it passed by the sun.

The AMS describes itself as a “non-profit scientific organization established to inform, encourage and support the research activities of both amateur and professional astronomers who are interested in the fascinating field of meteor astronomy.”

Did you see the fireball? Tell us about it in the comment section below. If you have a photo of it, email it to [email protected]

Read all of the reports from the AMS here.