Bright fireball lights up the sky over the western United States, maybe farther.

Written by Ric Wayman
December 22, 2015

ST. GEORGE — A fireball lit up the western American skies Tuesday night, but no one is really sure yet what it was.

Reports had the fireball streaking for about 30 seconds at around 7:15 p.m. MST. The blazing light was visible from Southern California to southwestern Utah, Arizona and possibly beyond.

“Just witnessed a large fireball streak across the sky,” Twitter user @SoCalScanner wrote from Camarillo, California, just north of Los Angeles. “Lasted for about 30 seconds then went behind clouds. Anyone else see it?”

The general thought is that this is a part of the Geminids meteor shower that peaked Dec. 12. Astronomers said at the time that fireballs could occur in the early evening and early morning hours. This type of meteor is called an “earthgrazer” and it is normally a long-lasting, slow-moving meteor. This phenomenon fits that description.

“We didn’t do it.” Vandenberg Air Force Base Chief of Communications Larry Hill said. Indeed, Jon Duckworth of St. George did a search of launch schedules and said it  showed no scheduled launches for the period in which the fireball was seen.

Video shared from Las Vegas showed a large plume of light. One viewer sent KTLA-TV in Los Angeles a picture of the fireball over the hot air balloon in front of the Paris Las Vegas Casino.

Isabell Nungaray of Los Angeles told KNBC-TV in Los Angeles that her 9-year-old said it was Santa training new reindeer.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @NewsWayman

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

"I wrote my first word when I was very young. I enjoyed this so much I decided to write many more words." A native of Pacific Palisades, Calif., Ric was bitten by the news bug as a staff writer and associate editor of the Palisades High School Tideline. After school he entered the media as a radio personality, both playing music and reporting news. Ric moved to St. George in the 1980s and was the morning personality on all three major AM stations in town. An avid amateur radio operator, Ric is looking for a good band to play in, as he plays keyboards, bass and guitar. Ric, who currently is working on developing a lifestyle that doesn't require his presence, lives in the center of St. George with his partner Terri, two snoring dogs and too many neurotic cats.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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7 Comments

  • .... December 23, 2015 at 5:22 am

    It’s a nuclear missile launched by the Muslim terrorists…RUNNNNN ! LOL

  • sagemoon December 23, 2015 at 8:24 am

    Awesome!

  • hiker75 December 23, 2015 at 8:26 am

    I read a report that a Russian rocket was launched and came apart in our skies.

  • SteveSGU December 23, 2015 at 9:16 am

    Russian space junk.

  • Terry December 23, 2015 at 10:07 pm

    Merry Christmas all you news commentators ????✌?️

    • .... December 24, 2015 at 11:07 am

      No thanks I don’t celebrate a lie !

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