Skywatchers spot bright fireball as it streaked across the Midwest
A bright fireball lit up dark midwinter skies above Illinois, Wisconsin and a handful of other states early Monday. Videos show the green meteor moving slowly from southwest to northeast at around 2:30 a.m. ET Monday. SEE ALSO: Dashcam catches mystery fireball lighting up sky over Scotland According to reports posted on the American Meteor Society's (AMS) website, the fireball was accompanied by sound and some eyewitnesses even claim that a piece of the space rock made it all the way to the ground. The AMS has received 222 reports about the fireball so far. "I have never seen such a large and bright object coming through the sky," Sheila S. said in her report from Woodstock, Illinois. "I have seen meteors of the meteor showers every August in Seattle when I was living there, but they were tiny in comparison to what I saw tonight." An AMS map showing reports of the Midwest meteor. Image: amsmeteors.org As is the case with many astronomical events these days, people have been posting videos of the Midwest meteor online. FDLPD & FDL Co 911 received many calls about suspicious activity - bright light & loud bang. Several officers also witnessed this meteor. — Fond du Lac Police (@fdlpolice) February 6, 2017 One of our officers caught this on their squad camera at about 1:30 AM today. The meteor lit up the sky and then came into view. pic.twitter.com/rRQazjC9Ro — Glendale WI Police (@GlendaleWiPD) February 6, 2017 Check out this meteor that lit up the Midwestern sky last night: https://t.co/FR6GwPPoKlCredit: Facebook/Marcella Canfora pic.twitter.com/ac3wbc9eYa — Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) February 6, 2017 Meteors are small pieces of dust, rock and ice that slam into Earth's atmosphere. Because of the intense friction produced during those collisions, the meteor leaves a streak of light in its wake. Small bits of ice and dust vaporize before ever reaching Earth's surface, but larger space rocks can sometimes produce a fragment that makes it all the way to the planet. These leftover rocks are known as meteorites. BONUS: Amateur footage of fireball over Fort Collins, Colorado