Sporadic meteor lights up Florida sky

By Julie Salomone

CREATED Feb. 18, 2013

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  • A sporadic meteor lights up Florida's sky on Sunday night. Video by fox4now.com

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MARCO ISLAND, Fla.- It's something that happens every night, but it's rare to see. Scientists say a person will see a sporadic meteor once or twice in their lifetime. A sporadic or random meteor lit up the sky in Florida on Sunday night.

Debbie Fleming is from Boston and recently bought a condo on Marco Island. She traded snow for sunsets, sand and the sea. Sunday night something in the sky grabbed her attention. 

"It came from the direction of the 10,000 islands and saw it right around the signs here, the boat signs," said Fleming. 

 

"What do you think it is?" I asked. 
"I have no idea because when you look at the camera looks like a big red round ball in the picture," said Fleming. 
 
The American Meteor Society received more than 40 reports of a sporadic meteor last night. One person from Naples writes on the AMS website "Amazing sight seen by me and my entire family while driving Naples to Ft. Lauderdale." 
 
People throughout Florida reported seeing that sporadic meteor last night. The NBC affiliate in Miami even has video sent to them by a viewer.
 
"It's a rocky meteoroid that comes from the asteroid belt. It's random, no way to predict them," said Mike Hankey, American Meteor Society. 
 
But what did Debbie see? The American Meteor Society thinks it might have been a plane in the distance, something that can often trick the eye. 
 
"It 100% wasn't a meteor ...The meteor wouldn't be stationary for more than a millisecond. Sometimes planes look like they are hovering, but they're not really hovering. They are moving towards us," added Hankey. 
 
Did you catch the show last night? Do you have video? Send it to jsalomone@fox4now.com and the Meteor Society also wants to hear from you. Visit http://www.amsmeteors.org