Mystery Fireball Seen Over Alabama Skies Might Have Been Caused By The Orionid Meteor Shower

A “mystery fireball” that was seen streaking across the night sky near Trussville, Alabama could have been just a meteor streaking across the night sky caused by the recent Orionid meteor shower. According to ABC News, the phenomenon which was captured on video had led to speculations regarding the origins of the “mystery object.” Dashcam video footage showing the object streaking across the sky was also released. The same has been embedded above.

It is now being thought that the mystery light was nothing but a meteor streaking across the night sky. Also pertinent to note is that it was seen at the same time the annual Orionid meteor shower was at its peak. Several media houses had reported about it as well.

According to Bill Cooke of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the mystery fireball could have been part of “several bright Orionids seen last night.” He told ABC News that a similar fireball seen over middle Tennessee was also caused by the Orionid meteor shower while adding that the meteors that caused the lights burned up around 24 miles up in the atmosphere. A similar streak of light was also captured by security cameras.

Meanwhile, Bill Cooke adds a statement to the mix.

“Meteoroids from Halley’s Comet strike Earth’s atmosphere traveling 148,000 mph. Only the November Leonids are faster.”

The Inquisitr had, in an earlier report, detailed how to view the spectacular Orionid meteor showers and the reason why they occur in the first place. In case you haven’t read that report, let us once again inform you that the Orionid meteor shower is named after the constellation of Orion from which the showers appear to originate from. These showers happen when the earth passes through a region of space from where the Halley’s comet passes through – leaving a cloud of debris. When large chunks of these space debris enter the earth’s atmosphere at tremendous speeds, the friction causes them to break up. Large chunks of such space rocks usually burn up with a flash of bright light — sometimes bright enough to light up an entire city.

In the past, we have seen such objects causing panic and even injuries. In 2013, a large sized meteorite did not completely burn up and actually crashed near a town in Russia, causing several casualties.

[Image via Time And Date]