Bright streak of light reported over Calif.
SAN FRANCISCO Hours after a meteor exploded over Russia and injured more than 1,000 people and an asteroid passed relatively close to Earth, residents in California reported seeing an unusual flash of light over the San Francisco Bay area that left many startled and thrilled.
Based on reports, the light streaking in the Northern California sky was a sporadic meteor, or fireball, and not a major event, said Mike Hankey, operations manager for the American Meteor Society, based in Genesee, N.Y. The group recorded at least 35 reports of the event, he said.
"Fireballs happen every single night, all around the world," he said.
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Experts say smaller meteorites hit earth five to 10 times a year but chances of a large meteor passing, such as the one that streaked over Chelyabinsk, Russia, are much rarer. Another meteor landed in the Bay Area in October and caused a loud sonic boom, a sound that could have been from the meteor traveling faster than the speed of sound, officials said at the time.
Another meteor that exploded April 22 was seen over a large part of Northern California and Nevada.
On Friday, the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland also reported receiving calls describing what appeared to be a fireball flying west around 8 p.m.
Aftermath of close encounter with meteor
Jonathan Braidman, an instructor at the center, described the object based off reports as likely being a small piece of an asteroid that "somehow" got on a collision course with the earth.
"This is a very common occurrence," Braidman said. "What is uncommon is that it's so close to where people are living."
Bay Area media outlets reported the fireball was reported seen from an area stretching from Gilroy, about 80 miles south of San Francisco, to Sacramento, about 90 miles to the northeast.
CBS Station KPIX San Francisco reporter David Jackson saw the occurrence while working on another story. "It was mighty bright up there in the sky," he said. "I've seen plenty of meteors over the years, and I don't recall seeing one with such a tail and for quite as bright I guess of a light as this particular one was. So it was quite a moment."
The center's large telescopes did not pick up the object during a stargazing event, astronomer Gerald McKeegan told KGO-TV.
Meteor event put into perspective
"The media attention on the Russian thing got people's attention, so they're more likely to notice things in the sky," said Mike Hankey, operations manager of the American Meteor Society.
While Friday night's fireball received a lot of attention in the San Francisco Bay area, Braidman notes about 15,000 tons of debris from asteroids enter the earth's atmosphere every year.
"Usually these things break up into small pieces and are difficult to find," he said.
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Does Russia have better technology? Come on Californians, I know you have Cell Phones with Cameras.