A New Jersey policeman on patrol in the middle of the night was treated to a spectacular celestial treat as a meteor streaked across the sky, NPR reported.
On Dec. 2 at 3:09 a.m., Sgt. Michael Virga was on patrol for the Township of Hamilton when his vehicle dashcam caught the path of a fireball that lit up the sky. The event was confirmed by the American Meteor Society, which received several reports along the East Coast of the United States, NPR reported.
Police Dashcam FireballTownship of Hamilton Police Dashcam Captures Fireball On December 2, 2017 at 3:09 am, Sgt. Michael Virga was on patrol when his vehicle dashcam caught a fireball in the sky. The event was confirmed by the American Meteor Society (AMS) who received numerous reports along the east coast for this event. AMS states a fireball is another term for a very bright meteor or about the same brightness of the planet Venus as seen in the morning or evening sky. A bolide is a special type of fireball which explodes in a bright terminal flash at its end, often with visible fragmentation. Watch our video to see an amazing example of this rare event. The American Meteor Society SNJ Today NBC10 Philadelphia US National Weather Service Philadelphia/Mount Holly The Weather Channel ABC News NBC News CBS News CNN Fox News MSNBC
Posted by Township of Hamilton Police Department on Thursday, December 7, 2017
“It was a pinpoint in the sky, then a bright lime green streak and then it disintegrated," Virga told NPR.
He thought at first the flashing light came from fireworks, but was startled enough to pull over and rewind his video. Virga saw that he had recorded a clear view of the event, a case of “being in the right place at the right time.”