Jason Jenkins was driving to work early in the morning when he saw a bright green flash in the sky. His dashcam recorded the event at 6:06 a.m. on Monday in southwestern Washington state, about 20 miles north of Portland, Oregon. At first, he thought it might be a comet but quickly realised it was too close for that.
What Jenkins witnessed was a fireball, a particularly bright meteor that can be seen up to 80 miles above the Earth, according to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland. Jenkins described the sighting as similar to a lightning strike because of its brightness.
In recent days, fireballs have been sighted across the United States. Over the weekend, another meteor lit up the skies over Northern California, prompting hundreds of reports from local residents. Last week, a 7-ton meteor crossed the sky in Ohio, causing a loud boom that startled people in multiple states.
Some fragments of this meteor made it to the ground, as confirmed by Bill Cooke, who leads NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office. In another incident, a meteor travelling at 35,000 miles per hour broke apart north of Houston, creating sounds that were heard nearby.
Green fireballs are often caused by magnesium, which glows bright blue-green when it burns in the atmosphere. The visibility of the meteor at dawn was enhanced by the dark sky. Experts say itβs challenging to find a meteorite after it lands, as it generally resembles an ordinary rock.
Jenkins expressed excitement over capturing the event on his dashcam, saying he now plans to buy a lottery ticket.
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