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Meteor Lights Up New England Sky in Daytime as Orionid Shower Begins

Meteor Lights Up New England Sky in Daytime as Orionid Shower Begins
(Screengrab of Twitter post/@cbsboston)

By    |   Friday, 20 October 2017 12:19 PM EDT

A meteor lit up the New England sky mid-afternoon on Wednesday as it blazed through the atmosphere, leaving residents in awe at this rare phenomenon, CBS News noted.

"It was neon blue, neon green, and turquoise," one witness, Matt Galvin, told CBS Boston.

"Just a big streak and it just went shoosh. Boom, it was gone. It was maybe five seconds."

Reports of the sighting began pouring in just after 3 p.m. and by Thursday nearly 200 people from New York, New Jersey and even Connecticut and Rhode Island had logged their accounts with the American Meteor Society.

The organization said the fireball was traveling from northeast to southwest, ending its journey somewhere above the Nantucket Canyon in the Atlantic Ocean.

Witnessing a meteor in the evening sky can be a magnificent sight but to see one during the day is extremely rare, Ron Dantowit from the Clay Observatory in Brookline, Massachusetts, told CBS News.

He added that the fireball was part of the Orionid meteor shower, expected to peak this weekend.

The meteors streaking across the sky are particles from Halley's Comet, which passes earth every 75 years, Space.com noted.

The comet leaves a trail of cosmic debris which can be seen across the globe at certain times of the year.

According to EarthSky, the best time to see the shower is Friday night, but late Saturday and early Sunday morning could also be good viewing times.

The website further advised those wanting to view the meteor shower to do so between the hours of midnight and dawn, from a dark site, for a maximum experience.

About 10 to 15 meteors are expected to shoot across the sky per hour.

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TheWire
A meteor lit up the New England sky mid-afternoon on Wednesday as it blazed through the atmosphere, leaving residents in awe at this rare phenomenon, CBS News noted.
meteor, new england, orionid, shower
307
2017-19-20
Friday, 20 October 2017 12:19 PM
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