Meteor Passes Over Minnesota Sky
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Cloudy, foggy skies cleared just long enough on Wednesday night for some to see a streak of light cross the sky.
Peter Schoon shared a video of the meteor as it passed by his cabin in Bigfork.
The video was taken around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday night. The streak across the sky is the meteor; some people call them shooting stars, and sometimes they're called "fireballs."
FIREBALL! @WCCO viewer Peter Schoon captured this "shooting star" on his cabin's security camera, located in Bigfork. The fireball lasted a few seconds but was reported across #MNwx #NDwx & #MBwx. @AMSmeteors tracks these; see the reports at https://t.co/Rs9U8JwPiv pic.twitter.com/wgMHsUyKaa
— Mike Augustyniak (@MikeAugustyniak) January 7, 2021
No matter what you call them, meteors enter the Earth's atmosphere at between 25,000 and 160,000 mph, releasing light as they burn up.
The American Meteor Society had a dozen fireball reports from this meteor, which probably burned up over southern Manitoba.
Most meteors are caused by small rocks, about the size of a piece of Grape Nuts cereal, according to meteorologist Mike Augustyniak.