Meteor observed by camera in Douglassville,
© PETER DETERLINEMeteor observed by camera in Douglassville, Berks County, around 6:13 am EST on Thursday, March 28, 2019. Witnesses across the East Coast described seeing a fireball in the sky that morning, including to people in Philadelphia.
Reports of a substantial fireball came in to the American Meteor Society from Lehigh Valley residents Thursday.

"It was very large! Much bigger than any type of shooting star I have seen. The flames around it were evident!" one report from Bethlehem read.

The reports to the American Meteor Society put the fireball's appearance as around 6:15 a.m. EDT. Sunrise on Thursday was 6:46 a.m.

The nonprofit society lists dozens of reports of this fireball as pending on its website, amsmeteors.org.


The society says it receives hundreds of fireball reports each year from around the world. A fireball is described by the group as another word for a very bright meteor, about as bright as Venus in the morning or evening sky.

On Thursday, reports of a fireball spotted around the same time were filed from the Lehigh Valley as well as parts of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey (including High Bridge), New York, Rhode Island and Vermont, in addition to a few from Virginia, Washington, D.C., and as far south as Florida.



"I have never seen anything like this - definitely not a plane," a report from Easton read.

Most of the Lehigh Valley reports said the fireball was visible for about 3 1/2 seconds, with one report saying it was seen for around 7 1/2 seconds.

At least two teachers, one from Easton and one from Bethlehem, were among those who filed reports. One teaches high school astronomy and planned to use the sighting for a discussion with students Thursday. The other teacher was driving at the time, and said the fireball was visible through the windshield.

"It did not terminate before dropping below the treeline," a report from Bangor says.