Bright “Orange Streak” Seen Falling Over New York State

A motorist filed a report to the American Meteor Society, claiming they witnessed a bright object falling overhead the night of January 16. The object was seen by multiple other residents as well, over the northeastern United States and parts of Canada.

One report from a person in Rockland County in New York described the object as "brighter than a shooting star". The falling object did not strike the ground, and was visible for only several seconds.

Bright "Orange Streak" Seen Falling Over New York State

The report filed to the AMC says that the resident in West Nyack witnessed a fireball as they drove on one of the area's state routes January 16.

See Also: Dark Triangular Object Seen At Night Over New York State

Their account stated that they were "driving headed east on Route 59 when I saw an orange streak that was headed downward at an angle. It was brighter than a shooting star and seemed lower on the horizon."

The object was only visible for a few seconds, before burning up miles overhead in the Earth's atmosphere. According to NASA, an orange meteor "typically means it contains a significant amount of sodium, which glows orange-yellow when superheated as it burns up in the atmosphere, similar to a sodium street lamp."

Did a Small Asteroid Strike Poughkeepsie? 

You may remember reports of the bright fireball that was seen all over the eastern part of the country in November 2020. Some outlets, such as the Gothamist, claim the space rock actually crashed somewhere in the area.

Hundreds of reports poured in from witnesses all over the east coast at around 7:22 P.M. that evening. The American Meteor Society says the fireball's visible light trail ended somewhere over Poughkeepsie, according to the reports they received. So, probably no.

Bright Lights and Fireballs

As of now, there is no actual evidence of asteroids striking here. That doesn't mean it hasn't happened, but there is no "smoking gun" to speak of. Chances are, the fireball simply disintegrated in mid-air.