Numerous reports of a fireball Thursday night | Source: American Meteor Society

Numerous reports of a fireball Thursday night | Source: American Meteor Society (March 1, 2013)

Meteorologist Brent Watts WDBJ7

10:18 a.m. EST, March 1, 2013

WDBJ7 has gotten several reports through social media of people seeing a fireball shoot across the sky Thursday night.

We have checked into the reports and found that the object, likely a meteorite, was visible from Virginia to North Carolina.

Mena Hobs saw it and posted this on the WDBJ7 Facebook page.

"Last night around 9:41 pm a huge ball of orange light in the sky. You could see it beyond Roanoke Electric Steel. It dropped below the horizon and appeared again briefly."

More than a dozen shared their story on the American Meteor Society website.  The website tracks and archives fireball reports from around the country.

Meteors and fireballs are very common, and fall even during the day.

The term meteor actually refers to the streak of light caused by a piece of space debris burning up in the atmosphere. The pieces of debris are called meteoroids, and remnants of debris that reach the surface are called meteorites.

DID YOU SEE IT? Share your story on our Facebook page (CLICK HERE) or email news@wdbj7.com