A bright, fiery flash of light was spotted in the cloudy skies over Indianapolis early Tuesday morning, giving some Hoosiers a rare and wondrous celestial sight as it raged across the United States. Dozens of witnesses reported hearing a massive “explosion” that left a glowing trail.

On Tuesday, the American Meteor Society received more than 30 eyewitness reports from people in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin who said they saw a fireball blazing around 4 a.m. Tuesday.

Here’s what we know about what people saw.

What is a fireball? Is it different from a normal meteor?

A fireball, writes the International Meteor Organization, is a meteor that appears much brighter than normal. Fireballs are often larger than the millimeter-sized pieces of rock, ice or metal that can penetrate Earth’s atmosphere and create short streaks of light in the sky. These smaller meteors are often seen during the Geminid meteor shower, which peaks in the Northern Hemisphere this week.

“The particles that cause the Geminid shower are usually very, very small – typically the size of a grain of sand and occasionally up to the size of a pea,” said Dr. Aarran Shaw, who serves as director of the Holcomb Observatory and teaches physics and astronomy at Butler University.

Shaw said the event, which was observed Tuesday evening and recorded by doorbell cameras across the Midwest, could well be a fireball that can occasionally occur during meteor showers.

Fireball meteor captured on video over central Indiana

Video of the fireball, captured by doorbell cameras, has since been shared on social media sites including Reddit, X and BlueSky. Those who claim to have witnessed it firsthand described a burning object in intense blue and yellow that made a “hissing, pulsating sound” followed by a booming “boom” as it flew overhead.

“It sounded like an explosion,” Keath R. wrote in Indianapolis to the American Meteor Society, whose report echoed others in the Midwest.

“The sky was so bright it was almost daylight, and about 20 minutes later there was a burning smell,” reported Gabby R. in Greencastle, Indiana.

Fireball could be what astronomers call a “bolide.”

Fireballs that explode in the atmosphere are called bolides, Shaw explained, which may be what witnesses saw Tuesday morning.

A bolide is a special type of fireball that explodes at its end in a bright terminal flash, often with visible fragmentation, according to the American Meteor Society. Although this is just speculation, it’s possible that there are small pieces of Tuesday’s meteor waiting to be found in a Midwestern cornfield somewhere.

How common are fireball meteors?

Believe it or not, fireballs are more common than you might think. According to the International Meteor Association, they occur every day across the globe. But you have to be in the right place at the right time and perceive exactly the right moment – the moment is over in a matter of seconds. Therefore, it is a rare treat to witness such an event.

More than 1,600 bolides have occurred so far in 2024, according to NASA’s Geostationary Lightning Mapper, a satellite that measures light and can help scientists detect lightning from severe weather. According to the information, there have been at least 23 cars in December so far.

What to do if you spot a fireball meteor: It’s easy to report it

Wondering what to do when you see a giant shooting star racing across the sky? Fireballs, Shaw said, should be reported to the American Meteor Society. The organization tracks meteor sightings, and your report can help alert and inform scientists about important astronomical events.

To report a fireball online, visit fireball.amsmeteors.org/members/imo/report_intro.

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John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at [email protected]. Find him on BlueSky at JohnWritesStuff.

This article originally appeared on the Indianapolis Star: Bright light and noise in Indiana sky likely was a fireball meteor