Fireball over Manchester, NH
© WMUR
Dozens of people in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts reported seeing a bright fireball streak across the sky Sunday night.

The American Meteor Society received at least 45 reports of the meteor from as far away as Nova Scotia, Rhode Island and Vermont. Based on the reports, it's likely the fireball entered the atmosphere above the ocean off the coast of Maine at about 8:20 p.m. and streaked northwest above Casco Bay.

A surveillance video captured by a Nest security camera in Rochester submitted by a local user shows a short, bright streak of light in the sky. The submitter said the fireball was accompanied by a loud boom, and an emailer from Strafford told News 9 his house shook after the fireball was seen. Just one of the reports submitted to the AMS indicated that the witnesses hadn't heard any sound.


Fireballs are meteors that are unusually bright, at least as bright as Venus. They can create a sonic boom that is heard a few minutes after the fireball is seen.

It's unlikely that the fireball reached the ground. Most meteors are destroyed high in the atmosphere.

The Lyrid meteor shower peaks this week on Wednesday and Thursday. It's unknown whether the meteor was associated with the Lyrids.