Green fireball seen over eastern U.S. coast

CBS DC
Thu, 05 Sep 2013 16:59 UTC

© Peter O Connell / Twitter

What in the world was that?

People tweeting about a green light "falling" from the sky Wednesday don't have the slightest clue.

But according to Geoff Chester, of the U.S. Naval Observatory, the celestial display was a rock, "probably something about the size of a basketball," entering the Earth's atmosphere at a speed in excess of 40 miles per second.

"Friction with the Earth's atmosphere causes the characteristic greenish glow," he says.

The light was seen by people up and down the Eastern Seaboard late Wednesday evening.

Chester says these "fireballs" occur almost daily, but aren't always reported because 70 percent of the planet's surface is covered in water and because most of the world's people reside near coast lines.

Obviously, since this light was visible to the East Coast of the U.S., plenty of people spotted it.

Only one unconfirmed picture of the light has surfaced on social media, though plenty of other have actively talked about the anomaly.

© Twitter