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NASA Gives Verdict On Shocking Video Of 'Fireball Crashing To Earth'

NASA Gives Verdict On Shocking Video Of 'Fireball Crashing To Earth'

The incredible footage sent the internet into meltdown as people tried to work out what it was.

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

Some people have been getting very excited after a video which seemed to show a meteor heading towards Earth, was shared online.

When amateur photographer, Howard Gowan, caught the mind-blowing clip of a 'fireball' flying through the atmosphere, he shared the clip online to see if anyone had any answers.

The 75-year-old thought he had actually caught a meteor which he feared was crashing straight to Earth.

He said: "I'm in an assisted living facility and attached to it is a six-storey penthouse tower with a 360-degree view that I have access to.

"I often go up for sunrises and sunsets, and I was there around 7am, just looking at the sunrise, when I happened to turn and look to the south and there was this big old fireball.

NASA has had its say on the 'fireball' that was seen crashing to Earth.
Penn News

"I was very excited. I said 'my gosh, I have never seen something like that.'"

Perplexed by the shocking footage, the man who lives in Holly Hill, Florida, said it certainly got other people talking.

He said: "I have a friend from the UK, Patrick Rooney, and he picked it up and said something about how it was a meteor," he continued.

"I looked at Facebook again that afternoon and people were in a big discussion about there being an unknown meteor shower."

Howard Gowan caught the incredible footage from his home in Florida.
Penn News

Perhaps less likely, some suggested the 'fireball' could in fact be sign of extra-terrestrial life.

Howard added: "I had no idea what it was, except it looked awful big and I did determine that it was moving away from me.

"When it got so low, it looked like it exploded, but I think it just went behind some clouds."

However, experts at ground control have eased fears and said people shouldn't be planning for Armageddon just yet. Phew.

A spokesperson for NASA said: "It's a jet contrail, illuminated by the rising sun. The two tails are a dead giveaway."

Spoil sports.

Howard said: "I tend pretty much to believe that, except it just looked so big and I had never seen anything like that before, but NASA are pretty sharp."

"I feel so good that it did stir all this excitement - and it was exciting, because it's something you don't normally see and I was the lucky one who got to share it."

Featured Image Credit: Penn News

Topics: World News, TV and Film, Interesting, US News, Technology