CAUGHT ON CAMERA: ‘Fireball’ meteor lights up Colorado sky

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV/Gray News) - Many in Colorado received an unexpected light show early Sunday morning when a meteor lit up the sky.

The meteor was captured on various cameras around 4:30 a.m., and people from the Denver metropolitan area all the way down to near the Colorado-New Mexico border reported seeing it.

“I stepped outside for just a second while my coffee was brewing and it all happened within one second,” said Brian Onley, who saw the meteor from his home in Trinidad.

Others said they were asleep when the meteor woke them up.

“It woke me up and it was an instant flash,” Kellie Moothart of Falcon told KKTV.

According to Bruce Bookout, a professor at Pikes Peak Community College and member of the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society, this was a “fireball” meteor, also known as a bolide. While it amazed many who were able to witness it, Bookout said these events are more common than some may think.

“This has been occurring for thousands and thousands of years,” Bookout said. “They’re normal small rocks that burn up. It’s no big deal. This happens all the time.”

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