As a giant flash of light streaked across the sky on Monday night, many Missouri homeowners caught a glimpse of the meteor on their smart-home cameras.
Described by some locals as a “fireball,” the meteor was seen in Missouri cities like St. Louis and Columbia (about 125 miles apart), as well as a number of suburbs in between, at around 8:51 p.m. local time on Monday night. While its entire flight was captured on EarthCam, multiple homeowners with smart home cameras posted their own footage of the meteor on social media.
Smart-home cameras, of which Nest and Ring are the most well-known brands, allow homeowners to monitor what is happening at their front door from their phones. Over the years, there have been reports of cameras capturing not just suspicious activity like porch pirates, but also animals, extreme weather and, in Monday’s case, a blazing ball of fire.
Others posted “sky is falling” memes and jokes about the hubbub caused by the streak of light across the sky.
For locals, the meteor was a frightening sight — it flew from east to west and was followed by a loud boom. Many locals called the police to ask if any people had been hurt by the streak.
That said, the National Weather Service at St. Louis confirmed that the fireball was indeed a meteor that most likely evaporated before it hit the ground.
Defined as a body of matter from outer space that enters into the atmosphere of the earth, meteors are a fairly common occurrence — although most are smaller and often go unnoticed.