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Meteors light the sky over East Tennessee for Halloween weekend with more on the way!

Right now, we are in the midst of the Taurid meteor shower, usually active from late September to late November.
Credit: Casey Guinan
Casey Guinan shared this video of a meteor streaking across the East Tennessee sky on Halloween night.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Some lucky folks got an extra treat this Halloween weekend!

Several viewers in East Tennessee reached out to us after seeing a green fireball in the sky on Halloween night. A few people also said they saw one on Sunday night as well.

A quick Google search found that people also spotted the streaking green lights in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. 

So what were we looking at?

Likely, the fireballs are actually meteors. According to NASA, a meteor is a piece of space rock hurtling through space. If it enters earth's atmosphere, it is visible as a streak of light in the sky, often referred to as a "shooting star."

Meteors can happen anytime, but a few are more regular. Right now, we are in the midst of the Taurid meteor shower, usually active from late September to late November.

The Southern Taurids have already peaked, but the Northern Taurids aren't done yet! Stargazers may be able to catch a glimpse any time throughout the second week of November, not just on the peak night of Nov. 11 into the early morning of Nov. 12.

 Just as the Northern Taurids begin to fizzle out, the Leonids will begin to reach its peak.

This will be the more active of November's two meteor showers with around 15 shooting stars per hour on the night of Nov. 16 into the early hours of Nov. 17. However, this pales in comparison to the show put on in past years.

So keep your eyes to the sky! There may be more "shooting stars" in the next few weeks.

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