Yet another meteor has entered the Earth’s atmosphere.
Onlookers across parts of California, Nevada, Washington and Oregon spotted another space rock streaking across the sky on Monday, March 23.
Jason Jenkins, who spotted the fireball while driving to work, told ABC News that the meteor reminded him of a “lightning strike because it was so bright.”
“The video doesn’t do justice on how bright and close it seemed,” Jenkins added.
The American Meteor Society received 137 witness reports and 11 videos chronicling the brief but dazzling moment.
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From northeast Ohio to Texas, the March 23 event was the latest in a series of sightings across the U.S. this week. Those sightings were characterized by a “loud boom” and a rogue meteor fragment.
Hundreds of people in California, Nevada and Arizona captured another “shooting star” on camera this last weekend. The vast majority of reports came out of California.
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A bright, glowing orb zipping through the night sky, trailed closely by a signature fiery “tail,” is seen in various clips shared by awestruck residents over the course of the week. Some even reported a greenish-yellow glow as the space rock lit up the sky for about five seconds.
What is a meteor?
Meteors, like comets or asteroids, are space rocks that orbit the sun, according to NASA.
Often called “shooting stars,” meteors come from meteoroids − small, often pebble-sized pieces that break off asteroids or comets. When a meteoroid enters Earth’s atmosphere, it becomes a meteor.
A green fireball was seen crossing the sky in the Pacific Northwest.
Because meteors enter the atmosphere at such high speeds, the space rocks burn up as they fall from our sky, creating the streak of light we commonly know as a shooting star or “fireball.”
If a meteor survives the entry and ends up on the ground (or lodged in someone’s roof), it is then called a meteorite.
Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch as ‘fireball’ briefly illuminates Oregon skyline