May 6, 2025
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Green fireball spotted over western skies. 'Never seen anything quite like this'
by Brooke Baitinger
Hundreds of people reported seeing a fireball over several western U.S. states, especially over Utah, where it was exceptionally large, bright and green.
Reports poured into the American Meteor Society from Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and even Alberta, Canada, on Saturday, May 3 and into Sunday, May 4.
Videos attached to the May 4 event report show the bright fireball shooting through the sky over Salt Lake City and Deaver, Wyoming.
"Traveling northbound on I-15 in Salt Lake City, UT, we were lucky enough to witness and capture on our dashcam this beautiful green fireball," a caption on the video says.
The other video, taken from a backyard camera in Wyoming, shows the fireball exploding in the distance.
Other reports don't provide video, but comments paint a vivid picture of what the fiery object looked like.
"I've never seen anything quite like this," someone wrote from Jackson, Wyoming. "It was like a firework falling down from the sky!"
"I've seen shooting stars before but nothing like this. The intensity of the brightness was so much stronger," another person from Jackson said. "It's a clear night with perfect air quality."
"Flash at the end of the extremely bright trail looked like an explosion," they added.
"It was so fast and bright, I initially thought it was a plane crashing," someone said from Garland, Utah.
"It looked massive in the sky, probably about the circumference of a quarter held at arms length," someone said in Kaysville, Utah. "It was also extremely fast, not just 'falling' but 'shooting.' So cool!!!!!"
It may have been part of the Eta Aquarids meteor shower, which peaks in early May each year, according to NASA.
Aquarid meteors are known for their high speed, the agency said.
As for the green hue? It could have been nickel, "a very common metal to find in objects that are natural from space," Jason Trump, NASA solar system ambassador told KSTU.
2025 The Charlotte Observer. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Citation: Green fireball spotted over western skies. 'Never seen anything quite like this' (2025, May 6) retrieved 6 May 2025 from https://phys.org/news/2025-05-green-fireball-western-skies.htmlThis document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
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