INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – What is loud, bright and can shake homes if it enters our atmosphere?

If you, like several others in Indiana, heard a big bang in the sky early Tuesday morning, you just witnessed a rare astrological event – a fireball meteor.

Fireball meteors are the slightly larger siblings of standard meteors. Storm Track 8’s Ryan Morse describes them as meteors that are “bigger and brighter” and travel further through the atmosphere before dissipating.

While the American Meteor Society says most fireballs occur “over oceans and uninhabited regions” and are often obscured by daylight, Hoosiers reported seeing the fireball across Indiana on Tuesday.

Many reported seeing a fireball around 4 a.m. Tuesday across western Indiana, including parts of Indianapolis. According to other reports, a fireball was spotted in southern Indiana late Monday evening.

Those who shared their fireball experience with WISH-TV described it as a loud bang that shook houses and woke people (and dogs). One viewer compared the sound to a sonic boom coupled with a jet flying overhead.

Frankfurt police even caught the fireball on one of their parking lot surveillance cameras, calling the experience “a front-row seat.”

Visit the American Meteor Society website to share your fireball experience (and help with some outstanding scientific research).