People in Toronto report seeing fireball fly across the sky

Toronto residents that just happened to be looking up at the sky at the exact right time were lucky enough to witness a fireball shooting through the air this afteroon. 

People took to social media to report seeing the flash of light streaking through the sky around 12:09 p.m. Wednesday, and the International Meteor Organization received a total of 78 reports of fireball sightings from Ontario as well as U.S. states including Virginia, Michigan, Maryland, Ohio, and New York.

@amsmeteors #Torontonews I saw a fireball from the sky and in a second it disappeared Toronto

— RIS (@rositu1) December 2, 2020

And while the flash over Toronto may have been brief, the CN Tower's EarthCam managed to capture a video of it flying through the sky. 

A massive #fireball lit up the sky over parts of the United States and Canada earlier today. Check out this footage that was caught from our #EarthCam's in Toronto. Could it be a meteor?? 👀☄️ @TourCNTower pic.twitter.com/Qxdz168p0I

— EarthCam (@EarthCam) December 2, 2020

The camera also captured the fireball in New York, and the footage shows a giant flash of light over the city — much brighter than what was visible in Toronto and the GTA. Some people in New York also reported hearing a loud boom.

A huge fireball just lit up the sky in Central New York.

This camera all the way in Toronto captured it as it happened.

🔥 pic.twitter.com/OP5zLi6ZQb

— Goodable (@Goodable) December 2, 2020

According to the American Meteor Society, the fireball, which is another way of saying an exceptionally bright meteor, entered the atmosphere near Toronto. 

Due to cloudy conditions, however, not everyone was able to see it.

But those that did were lucky enough to witness something that is not often visible to the naked eye. 

"Fireballs actually occur every day all over the Earth," says the International Meteor Organization. "To the individual though, they are a rare spectacle that is witnessed very few times per lifetime."