Watch: Meteor lights up sky in western Pennsylvania
SHENANGO TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- A bright meteor was captured blazing across the sky on a doorbell camera in Lawrence County on Sunday morning.
Cindy S. shared a video of her Ring doorbell recording the meteor in Shenango Township. Her camera faces eastward and caught the shooting star at 6:11 a.m.
☄️👀 Check out this meteor Caught on a ring doorbell in Shenango Twp, Lawrence County by Cindy S! Anyone else see it? This camera is facing eastward and it occurred at 6:11am Sunday, October 15.
Posted by Ray Petelin Weather on Monday, October 16, 2023
Another camera in State College captured the meteor to the WNW.
According to NASA, meteors happen when meteoroids -- "space rocks" that range in size from dust grains to small asteroids -- enter a planet's atmosphere at a high rate of speed and burn up. Meteors that hit the ground are called meteorites.
Scientists estimate that about 48.5 tons of meteoritic material falls on Earth every day.
On any given night, NASA says you can see several meteors per hour, but there will be even more during a meteor shower. Right now, we're in the middle of the Orionids meteor shower, which started Sept. 26 and runs through Nov. 22.
The Orionids meteor shower is expected to peak on Oct. 21, according to NASA. During the peak, NASA says you can see about 23 meteors an hour in a moonless sky.
The Orionids are considered one of the most beautiful showers of the year because of their brightness and speed, NASA says. The meteors travel about 148,000 mph into the earth's atmosphere.
If you want to see the Orionids, which are viewable in both hemispheres, NASA recommends finding a dark area and looking to the sky after midnight. In the northern hemisphere, lie flat on your back with your feet facing southeast.