Fireball caught on camera in Barrington

BARRINGTON, R.I. (WPRI) — There was quite a show in the sky over the Northeast Friday evening.

A fireball lit up the evening sky and was caught on camera by a home security system in Barrington. The number of meteors in our sky will likely increase in the coming weeks.

The bright fireball was likely part of the Alpha Capricornid meteor shower, which is active from July 7 to Aug. 15. Typically, we don’t see many meteors from this meteor shower, but fireballs are frequently reported with it.

This fireball was also seen in Mansfield, Martha’s Vineyard and Old Lyme, Conn., according to the American Meteor Society’s Fireball Log . Most of the sightings of the bright meteor were in the New York City area and as far away as Quebec.

If you look closely at the video above, a trail of debris was left behind in the atmosphere as the piece of space rock broke apart in the atmosphere.

The Alpha Capricornids are pieces of dust and small bits of rock from an asteroid burning up in our atmosphere. The asteroid is actually now labeled as a comet by astronomers. You can see the Alpha Capricornids while looking to the west just after sunset. Again, typically we don’t see too many meteors from this shower.

This is not the first time this camera has caught a fireball in the sky. Back in January, Joanne Kovich’s home security system caught another fireball streaking across the Southern New England sky.

THE PERSEIDS

The Perseid meteor shower is also now visible. You may see a few of the Perseids when the sky is clear, but its peak will be in mid-August. The Perseids are pieces of a comet, Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.

The Perseids are a favorite for skywatchers because they are usually very numerous and can be seen outside while the weather is warm. Want to see them? Toward midnight, look to the northeast and meteors will start streaking across the sky.

After midnight and toward dawn, the Perseids will appear to come from right overhead, shining down across the sky. We’ll typically see 30 to 50 Perseid meteors per night around Aug. 11-13.

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