A fireball was observed over a wide part of the western United States Tuesday night, Springdale, Utah, Feb. 6, 2018
© Heath SernaA fireball was observed over a wide part of the western United States Tuesday night, Springdale, Utah, Feb. 6, 2018
A fireball seen Tuesday night over skies in the western United States attracted quite a bit of attention.

A fireball was observed over a wide part of the western United States Tuesday night, Springdale, Utah, Feb. 6,

The American Meteor Society reported on their website that the fireball, which occurred at approximately 7:33 p.m. MST, was seen by viewers in a wide swath over the West. Reports flooded in from California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Texas and one report from St. George.

The meteor was very noticeable in most areas. An observer in Emeryville, California, sent his description of the sighting to the American Meteor Society website.

"It was a bit frightening to see something this large and bright in the sky, Total observation time was about 5 minutes as a small fuzzy dot became large and bright."

Some observers reported that the object split in two before fizzling out. A second observer said the meteor lasted for 10-12 seconds after it broke up.

"I saw it before the fragmentation began," observer Ashley G. in Centennial, Colorado, said. "It first appeared as a white ball then it came closer and it exploded, leaving behind two tails (and) within 10-12 seconds it ended."


St. George observer Alisha N. saw the meteor for well over one minute.

"It was something I have never seen before, and showed my boyfriend and his dad and neither of them had seen anything like that before."

As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, the American Meteor Society had received 28 reports of the meteor. If you saw the fireball and would like to file a report, you can log your sighting at the American Meteor Society's webpage. The event number is 501-2018.