The strange bright bursts showed up a few days before the mid-November Leonid meteor shower is expected to take place, suggesting that the fireball is more likely to be a meteor than an alien spacecraft or military test vehicle.
The fireball was seen across the American Southwest. "The American Meteor Society (AMS) received 85 reports so far about this event that occurred over Arizona. We didn't receive reports only from Arizona but also from California, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico. This event has been caught on at least two dash cams shared via the AMS Fireball report," the organization wrote on their website.
— General W.R. Monger (@connorfog) November 15, 2017
"The Leonid meteor shower is active in November, and is expected to peak later this week. It's not clear whether this flash was related to that meteor shower," Arizona 12 news reported.
— Ilse Martinez (@Labrujaxbonita) November 15, 2017
The Leonids are named as such because they radiate constellation Leo, the Lion. Some of the most stunning meteor showers ever witnessed have been Leonids.
— Tim Sylvester (@tsylvestermusic) November 15, 2017
According to NASA, you are most likely to see the meteors if you "orient yourself with your feet towards east, lie flat on your back, and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible."
