Indiana residents thought there was an explosion. It turned out to be a meteor
Videos taken by residents show a bright light streaking across the sky.
Following several reports from across Hamilton County, Indiana, about a "possible explosion and a light streaking across the sky," emergency management officials say the source of the sonic boom heard was likely a meteor. (Bryan Bunton)
(CNN) -- It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a ... meteor flashing through the Indiana night sky.
Residents of Hamilton County, Indiana, had the out-of-this-world opportunity to witness a meteor Friday night.
Residents reported what they thought might have been an explosion due to the loud sound and flashing lights, according to a tweet from Hamilton County Emergency Management.
The agency's "current theory" is the sound and light were caused by a sonic boom from a meteor.
Pilots in Kentucky saw a meteor to the north and a lightning detection center picked up signals over Carroll County, Hamilton County Emergency Management reported.
Videos taken by residents and published by CNN affiliate WTHR show a bright light streaking across the sky. Several videos also captured the rumbling sound caused by the meteor.
Hamilton County Emergency Management thanked the National Weather Service and FAA for helping them "quickly figure out what happened."
A meteor is a piece of space rock entering the earth's atmosphere, according to NASA. The bright streak with the appearance of a "shooting star" is actually the extremely hot air produced by the meteor. The rocks usually burn up in earth's atmosphere before reaching the ground.
Indiana's flashing lights fell during the Lyrids, one of the oldest recorded meteor showers. Meteors from the shower are expected to be most frequent on Saturday night into the early hours of Sunday morning.
Hamilton County is located in central Indiana.
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