Sudden Bright Burst of Light Seen Over New York State

Residents in New York and other surrounding states reported a bright flash of light in skies late Sunday night. The sudden burst in the sky coincides with a number of meteor showers, as  as the Orionids will continue to streak through early November.

Scientists also say that the Leonids meteor shower will become active from November 6 to November 30, with its peak occurring on the nights of November 16 and 17. The Leonids usually produce around 10 to 15 meteors an hour.

Sudden Burst of Light Seen Over New York State 

Anyone see anything unusual? Reports to the American Meteor Society says that a fireball was witnessed late night November 2 over parts of the northeast. The reports say the object was bright white to yellow in color.

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One witness in Vestal, New York described the event as a bright light, that only lasted a few seconds. The account says the meteor was was "bright, quick, and almost immediately was gone".

The witness went on to say that the meteor left "no trail", and was "quick, bright, and thicker than a shooting star".

Meteor Storms

The Leonids are occasionally known to produce something called meteor storms, with the most recent one occurring in 2002. The AMS says that these "outbursts of meteor activity" come when the Earth follows an unusually dense part of the parent object's (Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle) debris cloud.

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AMS Meteors reports that the meteor storms also were seen in 1833, 1866, 1966, 1999, and 2001. However, astronomers say that the Earth will not encounter any dense clouds of debris until 2099

Astronomers says that during those events, tens of thousands of meteors fall across the skies like "rain". Some feel the Leonids will not produce any of these meteor storms again until 2099, though there are still upticks in activity expected when the comet comes closer to the Sun.