Residents of several Midwestern U.S. states were treated to a dramatic natural light show in the early hours of Feb. 10, when a fireball meteor made a fiery descent, brightening the winter sky before appearing to disintegrate as it neared the horizon.

The meteor's fiery passage generated over 120 reports on the American Meteor Society website from skywatchers in Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois, some of whom captured its 48-mile (77 kilometer) journey on security cameras, dashcams and in the footage of smart doorbells.

The meteor was first spotted at 11:32 p.m. EST on Feb. 10 (0432 GMT on Feb. 11) as it streaked Earthward above the town of Trinity in Indiana while travelling at a blistering speed of roughly 29,000 miles per hour (46,670 kilometers per hour). The fireball flared repeatedly before finally appearing to break apart 27 miles (43 km) above Dayton, Ohio, per a NASA report.

Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society notes the possibility that the fireball is likely sporadic in nature, meaning that it doesn't belong to any specific shower or radiant group. "As for the possibility of this fireball producing meteorites, we look for reports that mention sounds associated with the event," Lunsford told Space.com in an email. "These are usually delayed sonic booms. Out of all these reports, none mention the fact that they heard sounds associated with this fireball. Therefore, it is most likely that this fireball completely disintegrated while still high in the atmosphere."

Meteors become visible when tiny shards of comets or asteroids known as meteoroids collide with Earth's atmosphere while travelling at tens of thousands of miles per hour, compressing the air in their paths and causing it to glow.

Larger chunks of debris — which can range in size from a baseball to an SUV and beyond — create dazzling fireballs as they plough through the atmosphere, which are bright enough to outshine the brightest planets in the night sky. The relatively slow speed of the fireball led NASA to conclude that the object meteoroid that spawned it was likely once part of a larger asteroid — rather than a faster moving comet — which subsequently fractured into smaller pieces.

Feeling inspired to snap your own meteor imagery? Then be sure to read our guide detailing how to photograph shooting stars and to check out our roundups of the best camera bodies and lenses for capturing the night sky!

Editor's Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

Onlookers were dazzled on the night of Oct. 16 when a bright green fireball blazed earthward in the skies over several Eastern Seaboard U.S. states, leaving a short-lived glowing trail in its wake as it streaked earthward before flaring and disappearing as it neared the horizon.

As if that wasn't spectacular enough, a video of the event captured from North Branford, Connecticut appeared to show a second bright meteor moving in perfect formation with the fireball, before disappearing at the exact same moment as it approached Earth's surface.

The seemingly incredible event appeared to repeat a day later on Oct. 17, when yet another fireball was observed blazing through the skies over North Branford — albeit from a different location — accompanied by a second meteor moving in absolute harmony. Were these rare 'double' meteors, or just a trick of the light?

According to fireball expert Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society, these double fireball events may have been nothing more than an optical illusion of sorts created by anti-fogging measures fitted to the outside of the skywatching camera systems.

"These fireballs were captured by the same type of camera systems which are prone to produce "double fireballs" on the brightest events," Lunsford told Space.com in an email. "These cameras are housed under a clear acrylic dome that are probably the cause of these double events. You will notice that the secondary fireballs are in the exact same place in relation to the main event in both videos."

So, if you see spectacular videos of double fireballs circulating online, know that it may just be a trick of the light.

Be sure to check out our handy guide to photographing fast-moving meteors, along with our roundups of the best lenses and cameras for astrophotography if you're interested in capturing your own shot of a dramatic fireball event!

Editor's Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

Two annual meteor streams are due to become active in the coming week that have the potential to spawn dramatic fireballs in the runup to their November peaks.

As their names suggest, meteors from both the Southern Taurid and Northern Taurid meteor showers appear to emanate from a point of origin in the constellation Taurus, which can be found rising in the eastern sky in the hours preceding midnight throughout October. They also share a common parent in the form of the wandering comet 2P/Encke, which sheds debris in a vast loop as it traverses its 3.3-year orbit around the sun. When Earth travels through this debris, particles of dust and other matter heat up due to the friction of our planet's atmosphere and create the fiery spectacles we see in the sky.

The Northern Taurids become active on Oct. 20 and are forecast to crescendo overnight on Nov. 11-12, while the Southern Taurids have been in play since Sept. 20 and are expected to peak during the night of Nov. 4-5.

Stargazers could see up to 5 meteors per hour during each period of peak activity under ideal dark sky conditions, though the light of a full moon will likely blot out dimmer meteors during the Southern Taurid peak. What makes the Taurid meteor streams truly exciting is their potential to occasionally birth magnificent fireballs capable of briefly turning night to day as they flare in the post-sunset sky.

The southern and northern Taurids are born of the same highly dispersed debris cloud. The periods when both are active have been known to correspond with a significant uptick in fireball activity, according to the American Meteor Society.

A fireball is the name given to a particularly bright meteor that outshines even the planet Venus in the night sky. They often leave pronounced trails in their wake and are created when an object ranging from a few inches to several feet collides with our atmosphere.

Feeling the itch to photograph the night sky? Then check out our roundups of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography, along with our guide to imaging fast moving meteors and fireballs.

Editor's Note: If you snap an image of a fireball and want to share it with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

Residents of Maoming, China were treated to a celestial light show earlier this week when a surprise fireball burst to life overhead, illuminating the city before disappearing in an intense flare of light.

The fireball burned up over the southern Chinese province of Guangdong at 9:33 p.m. local time on May 28, according to multiple dashcam videos that have circulated online in the wake of the event. The videos show the meteor make a dramatic 5-second journey through the night sky, during which it changed color from a pale green-blue hue to an intense burst of orange-yellow light. This particular fireball may have been a bolide - a special meteor that breaks apart with a dramatic flash of light.

A fireball is the name given when a relatively large meteor - over 1 millimeter in diameter - collides with Earth's atmosphere, triggering a fleeting flare of light that can outshine the planets themselves in the night sky. The color of a burning meteor is determined by a number of factors such as its speed, composition and how it compresses the air in its path, according to the American Meteor Society.

Bright, reddish flashes of light can arise when fast-moving meteors strike the atmosphere at tens of thousands of miles per hour, compressing the air in front of them. This process causes them to glow brightly in the night sky and has the potential to force atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen atoms trapped in the meteor's path to release an abundance of reddish light, according to NASA. Meteors with a high sodium content also have a tendency to burn with an orange-yellow light.

No major meteor showers were active on the night in question, so it's likely that the Maoming City fireball was born of a 'sporadic meteor' - a random piece of space debris left over from the creation of the solar system that happened to collide with Earth on May 28.

Editor's Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower 2025 peaks tonight! Here's how and when to catch one of nature's most spectacular light shows, courtesy of Halley's comet.

Southern hemisphere skywatchers will have the best view of the Eta Aquarids with the highest number of shooting stars. This is because the point of origin of the shower — known as the radiant — is high in the sky in the constellation of Aquarius at this time of year for those in southern latitudes. However, NASA has estimated that stargazers in the northern hemisphere can still see around 10 meteors per hour under dark sky conditions, so be sure to stake your meteor hunting spot out ahead of time!

The best time to view the Eta Aquarids for U.S. stargazers will be a few hours before dawn on May 6, at which time the radiant can be found close to the bright star Sadachbia in the constellation Aquarius, close to the southeastern horizon. When looking for the longest meteor trains, you never want to look directly at the radiant. Instead, take NASA's advice, and lie down flat on your back on something soft with your feet pointing to the east. This will let you take in a vast swathe of the sky, giving you the best chance to spot an Eta Aquarid streaking through the sky.

Halley's Comet significance and scrutiny

Halley's Comet holds a special place of significance and popularity among both the general public and the astronomy community alike. In 1705, the wandering body became the first comet whose return was successfully predicted using Isaac Newton's theories on planetary motions and gravity by famed astronomer Edmond Halley.

The comet was the subject of intense scrutiny from an international fleet of spacecraft upon its most recent visit to the inner solar system in 1986, after which it disappeared from Earth's skies to continue along its 76-year orbital path, which takes it 3.28 billion miles from our sun. Halley's Comet began its 38-year journey back towards our star on Dec. 8, 2023, and isn't due to make another 'close' pass to Earth until 2061, according to NASA.

Until then, stargazers can observe its legacy in the annual Orionid and Eta Aquarid meteor showers, during which debris shed by the legendary comet collides with our atmosphere to create spectacular shooting stars. The Orionids won't get underway until early October. However, the April-May Eta Aquarid meteor shower is due to reach its peak tonight, as Earth dives through the densest part of Halley's orbital trail.

Top observing tips

Remember to wrap up warm to ward away the pre-dawn chill, and to tell a friend or family member where you're headed if you choose to view from a remote dark sky location. You'll also want to allow 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark for optimal meteor viewing, and to take a red light so that you can still see while keeping your low-light vision intact.

Stargazers hoping to capture an image of the Eta Aquarids should check out our guide on how to photograph meteor showers and read up on the best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses with which to image the night sky. Our guides on the best binocular and telescope deals for 2025 are also perfect for those looking to explore the planets and stars beyond.

Editor's Note: If you want to share your Eta Aquarid photos with the readers of Space.com, please email them to spacephotos@space.com

A brilliant fireball lit up the night sky above parts ofNew Mexico and Texas this week in a fiery display recorded by a skywatchingcamera.

The fireball, thought to be created by a small spacerock, occurred Tuesday night (Sept. 21) at about 11:01 p.m. EDT (0301 GMT) andwas captured in a video camera as the meteor carved its fiery trail across thesky. It lasted 23 seconds and covered parts of New Mexico and west Texas,according to the website Spaceweather.com. [Videoof the Sept. 21 fireball.]?

"I was inside at the time, but heard and felt thesonic boom," said radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft, who operates theall-sky camera 20 miles (32 km) outside of Santa Fe, NM that recorded thefireball as it flew overhead.

At first, Ashcraft thought the sound was thunder, but nostorms were expected. Then a phone call inquiry led him to check his camera'sdata, where he saw "a spectacular meteor occurrence."

"At first I thought that this might have been spacejunk or satellite debris re-entering the Earth'satmosphere due to the low speed," Ashcraft told SPACE.com in an e-mail."But upon further analysis, I am pretty sure this was a natural meteoricevent, possibly asteroidal."

According to the skywatching website Spaceweather.com,the fireball prompted many calls to a TV news station in Albuquerque, NM, amongother reports.

Ashcraft said some witnesses? described the fireball as"white and shedding sparks," blazing "like a firework," orshining bright with red and yellow colors.

"It was not quite as bright as the moon,"Ashcraft said. The moon appears as a bright, unmoving disc in the fireball video.

But the fireball was still dazzling, and is one the topthree events Ashcraft has recorded in the last four years.

"A fireball this size only happens once or twice peryear over one observing location," he said.

Meteorfireballs are fallen debris from comets or other space rocks. Asthe debris hits Earth's atmosphere, it heats up and produces the brilliantstreaks of light which we sometimes call shooting stars.Though most meteors are destroyed during this process, some make it to theground and are known as meteorites.

Many bright fireballs go unrecorded and often evencompletely unnoticed because they fall over remote areas or over the oceans(and Earth?s surface is about three-quarters oean).

Ashcraft uses an experimental camera on loan from SandiaNational Laboratories in New Mexico. The Sentinel all-sky camera is anear-infrared low light video camera outfitted with a fish-eye lens. It canobserve fireballs that occur anywhere within a 350-mile (563-km radius).Ashcraft has added a forward scatter radio meteor array to the camera, whichcan sometimes pick up sounds.

"If you listen closely to this fireball you will beable to hear some sound, though it is subtle," he said.

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