Meteor Lights Up Over Alaska, USA

A bright meteor flashed across the early morning sky over Southcentral Alaska Wednesday, according to reports from several residents.

Video sent in from several home security cameras to Alaska’s News Source showed a meteor blazing across the sky above Southcentral at around 5:47 a.m. Wednesday, the winter solstice, when Earth’s northern hemisphere sees its shortest day of the year.

The meteor caused a fireball that ranged in color from blue to orange to white, according to citizen reports from Anchorage and Wasilla, which were submitted to the American Meteor Society’s webpage.

Earth is currently passing through “the dusty material shed by comet 8P/Tuttle, which circles the sun in a 13.6-year orbit and is not due to return until March 2035,” according to Space.com. This annual passage produces what is known as the “Ursid meteor shower.”