Possible meteor spotted by News 12 viewer in Greenville
News 12 viewer Samantha Kafka sent in video of a fiery sighting she spotted in the sky in Greenville Sunday night.
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News 12 viewer Samantha Kafka sent in video of a fiery sighting she spotted in the sky in Greenville Sunday night.
The sighting is part of a period of active meteor showers, called Orionids, that runs from late-September until November 22, according to the Orange County Office of Emergency Management.
Officials say as many as 10-20 large meteors can be seen during this active period.
News 12 consulted with former News 12 meteorologist, Joe Rao, an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium and published astronomy author.
He says the sighting is most likely a "contrail left behind in the wake of a high-flying jet aircraft."
"If this was truly a dazzling meteor, countless numbers of people within a range of a few hundred miles would have lit up the phone lines of local police precincts, newspapers, television and radio stations," said Rao. "According to the American Meteor Society, there were no reports of any unusually bright meteor over the tri-state area on Sunday evening."
Rao says it's also not likely an Orionid meteor since the constellation Orion is only visible from predawn hours and not around sunset.
