In this image taken from video provided by Tom Hopkins of Hopkins Automotive Group, a bright flash of light, top center, streaks across the early-evening sky in what experts say was almost certainly a meteor coming down, Friday, March 22, 2013 in Seaford, Del. Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environmental Office said the flash appears to be "a single meteor event. (AP)
East Coasters were treated to a dazzling display after a likely meteor streaked across the sky Friday night.
The flash was brief but bright and was spotted from New England to Florida, USA Today reported.
Chip Guy was driving in eastern Maryland with his family and described "a thin streak of blue-greenish-white."
"It didn't last more than eight or nine seconds, then it disappeared," Guy told CNN.
Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environmental Office told the Associated Press that it appeared to be "a single meteor event." He said it "looks to be a fireball that moved roughly toward the southeast, going on visual reports."
"Judging from the brightness, we're dealing with something as bright as the full moon," Cooke told the AP. "The thing is probably a yard across. We basically have (had) a boulder enter the atmosphere over the northeast."
Here's dashcam footage from a WUSA-TV news vehicle in the Washington, D.C. area:
The meteor was widely seen, Cooke said -- the American Meteor Society received more than 350 reports on its website alone.
"If you have something this bright carry over that heavily populated area, a lot of people are going to see it," he said. "It occurred around 8 tonight, there were a lot of people out, and you've got all those big cities out there."
Here's security camera footage from an auto dealership in Salisbury, Md.:
And here's video taken from a home security camera in Thurmont, Md.:
