Meteor streaks across North Carolina skies Tuesday night

By Rob Morris on October 23, 2018

Satellite image of the Orionid meteor shower. (Courtesy NASA)

A large meteor streaked across the skies of North Carolina Tuesday evening, possibly an extra bright leftover from the annual Orionid meteor shower.

The fireball was seen from Winston-Salem to the Outer Banks around 7:48 p.m., and was captured on a dashcam video posted to Twitter shortly after.

Orionid meteors are known for their brightness and speed, according to NASA.

“These meteors are fast—they travel at about 148,000 mph into the Earth’s atmosphere,” NASA writes. “Fast meteors can leave glowing ‘trains’ (incandescent bits of debris in the wake of the meteor), which last for several seconds to minutes.”

DID YOU SEE IT? Bright meteor lights up the sky over NC Tuesday night. This video from 7:48pm in Winston-Salem. Likely leftover from Orionid Meteor Shower.

Credit: Chris Mattingly #ncwx #meteor #fireball #OrionidMeteorShower via @WFMY pic.twitter.com/9FN7hU9KJ0

— Tim Buckley (@TimBuckleyWX) October 24, 2018

The Orionids showers peaked last weekend, but will continue through early November. The meteors are caused by the leftover debris of Haley’s Comet.