BENTON, Ark. – A large meteor lit up the skies in a brilliant green hue as it exploded over the skies of Arkansas Monday night.
Several videos have emerged from surveillance cameras and skywatchers in the region. One video shared by Twitter user @ToddAAnderson in Benton shows a huge green flash in a cloudy sky before the fireball appears to break up, according to TMX.
According to Arkansas Sky, the official Twitter account of the Arkansas SkyDome Planetarium, the green color “was likely caused by either the air glow of highly ionized atmospheric oxygen created as the meteor plowed through the atmosphere or by the burning of [copper] within the meteor itself,” TMX reported.
There are no reports of any debris or landfall from the meteor, meaning it likely disintegrated in the atmosphere.
The meteor sighting comes two days before the peak of the Alpha Centaurids meteor shower, set for Wednesday night.
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The American Meteor Society says fireballs may be seen at about a rate of once per hour in the Southern Hemisphere and less than one per hour in the Northern Hemisphere.