The American Meteorological Society says that the fireb that lit up the Pennsylvania skies was probably a random meteor.


PITTSBURGH – A flash of lightning in parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio late Wednesday evening was probably a random meteor, an expert said.

Many social media users around the Pittsburgh area reported seeing a striking fire after 4 p.m. He stayed in the sky for a while before disappearing from the scene.

Security cameras at a property owned by Mark and Rosemary Sasala in New Lyme, northwest of Pittsburgh, Ohio, caught a bright flash in a blurry, dim light through the clouds at 4:20 p.m.

Related: See Halloween full moon, Orionid meteor shower and bright Mars in the sky this October

The American Meteor Society, a nonprofit group, said it had received more than 200 reports of bright fireballs in eastern Ohio. The Society’s official, Robert Lansford, said the fireball was probably not a random meteor associated with a known meteor shower.

Lunsford said that to create a flash as bright as a full moon, it takes only the size of a softbun of an object. Lunsford said the budget was probably a bit large, but more analysis would be needed to determine its size.

The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh said it was aware of the reports but had no information. Officials at the University of Pittsburgh University of Allegheny Observatory did not immediately comment.

Copyright by the Associated Press Copyright 20 2020. All rights reserved.

.