Was it a bird? A plane? Just what went streaking across the skies of Connecticut Monday afternoon?
Several people reported seeing what appeared to be a meteorite just after 12:30 p.m. Chatter about the object first appeared on Twitter. "Driving in Norwalk around 12:30, burning object with huge burning tail across horizon. Quick, lasted about 3 secs.," @kgrogs tweeted Monday. "It was a huge silver flash that went across the sky from northwest to southeast," @eyetalic said on Twitter.
Witnesses quickly chimed in on Facebook as well. "I was crossing into Berlin just before Exit 22. It was a stream of silver and then a flash with crazy colors (blues and greens)," Gina Monanto said. "It only lasted a few seconds and then it was gone over the trees."
People in New York and as far away as Philadelphia reported seeing the flaming streak across the sky as well.
Meteorites are not unusual, but for one to be seen during daylight hours is not as common , according to Kristie Mazzoni, Director of the Travelers Science Dome at the Gengras Planetarium in West Hartford. "It was probably the size of a basketball," Mazzoni said. "Most meteorites are no bigger than a grain of sand. But they are travelling at 40,000 to 60,000 miles per hour." Mazzoni says this one would have been much larger to stay together for so long.
Let us know if you saw it, by emailing us at news@nbcconnecticut.com.
