Large Fireball Seen Near Denver Could Have Left Meteorites Behind

click to expand

DENVER (CBS4) - A large fireball seen high in the sky around Denver Thursday night was not part of the Geminid meteor shower currently in progress, but instead, is what experts call a sporadic meteor.

A camera in Guffey, Colorado, captured a large fireball Thursday night. (credit: Chris Peterson)

"Meteors like this have the potential of producing meteorites on the ground," said Chris Peterson with Cloudbait Observatory.

Peterson caught an image of the meteor from his camera in Guffey, Colorado. He's working to see if cameras operated by Denver's Museum of Nature and Science also caught it.

Three other cameras operated by the Colorado Climate Center in Fort Collins also documented the fireball.

Preliminary analysis by Peterson indicates the meteor was roughly a bit north of Limon but that location could be fine tuned pending more research.

Meteorologist Chris Spears travels weekly in the CBS4 Mobile Weather Lab reporting about Colorado's weather and climate. Check out his bio, connect with him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.