ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Florida sky lit up Saturday night, as cameras caught what looked like a blue-green fireball coming from space. And it was something that happens all the time, just not always visibly.
- Falling meteor's contact with atmosphere created light, heat
- Planet collects hundreds of tiny meteors in atmosphere every day
- Modern prevalence of cameras helping to spot meteors more often
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Experts confirmed it was a falling meteor passing over North Florida.
We caught up with Dr. Craig Joseph, planetarium director at St. Petersburg College, who explained why the meteor gave off a light that looked like an alien invasion.
“When that thing comes into the atmosphere, it’s a rock from space," Joseph said. "It heats up the atmosphere and the surrounding molecules. Much of that is oxygen, which gives off that greenish color.”
While the video shows what appears to be a massive fireball, it probably wasn’t much bigger than a rock that could fit in the palm of your hand.
“It actually was a fairly small object,” Joseph said. “But it was big enough to burn up the atmosphere and generate a tremendous amount of heat, and that’s why you see a very brief, brilliant streak of light.”
While that falling meteor may seem like a rare event, it actually happens all of the time. It’s just not always visible.
“It’s estimated we collect hundreds of tons of that stuff a day," Joseph explained. "A lot of if it goes unnoticed. It happens during the daytime or over the ocean."
Thanks to cameras on dashboards and homes, we’re able to see these meteors a lot more. In fact, it’s helping scientists understand them more, though they say it's impossible to predict when you'll see one.
Meteors are made of rock and metal that are found on Earth. It’s possible the one seen on Saturday left small meteorites on the ground.