HELENA — Many Montanans saw a bluish-green flash in the Big Sky on Wednesday morning.
The Montana Learning Center in Canyon Ferry has a meteor sensor that captures videos and photos. At exactly 6:34 a.m., the system recorded the likely fireball many people saw.
The Center's executive director, Ryan Hannahoe says, "When it reaches a certain brightness we call it a fireball. You have got a meteor which is like your streak across the sky that you are seeing. When it is incredibly brighter we call it a fireball and when it is even brighter than that, brighter than how Venus appears in the sky we call that a bolide."
The fireball was first detected over southwest Alberta, Canada.
According to the American Meteor Society reports have come in from much of the northwest, Canada, and of course the Montana Learning Center’s camera.
Fireballs are not an uncommon occurrence but are not seen much because they happen during the day or when most people are asleep.
The faster a meteor moves the brighter the color. The color seen on Wednesday indicates magnesium.
“What is cool about this one is that the trail was very short and so the shorter it is the more directed towards you it is," Hannahoe said.
If you did not catch the sherbet-colored sky, there will be chances to see meteors well on November 16 and 17.
Under a dark sky with no moon, you might see 10 to 15 Leonid meteors per hour.
“Space is a big place, and our solar system has a lot of stuff in it. Every once in a while, you have a comet going around the sun and it crosses Earth’s orbit," Hannahoe says. "In this case, it is comet Temple Tuttle in what we see as the Leonid meteor shower. It just so happens it will peak Sunday morning. This was probably a Leonid."
Meteors in annual showers get their names from the point in the starry sky from where they appear to radiate. This shower’s name comes from the constellation Leo the Lion, because these meteors radiate outward from the vicinity of stars representing the lion’s mane.
