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I just saw a large green yellow streak cross the sky. It looked like a shooting star but way bigger. It seemed closer too. I’m in North Garden VA. It was heading north. It lasted for 5-7 seconds.

Prallax
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Diane
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    Sounds like a shooting star but brighter than a typical one. The brightness varies depending on the size of the body, starting from sand grain size. – JohnHoltz Jul 29 '22 at 02:18
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    Can you say the time? There was a fireball (ie bright shooting star) visible in VA on the 28th of July at about 10pm – James K Jul 29 '22 at 10:07
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    I feel like a well-formed, self-contained question should explicitly state the date and time of the event in question, rather than relying on the time at which the question itself was posted. – Wyck Jul 29 '22 at 18:45

1 Answers1

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There was a fireball visible in VA at about 10pm EDT on the 28th of July

https://fireballs.imo.net/members/imo_view/event/2022/4424

Other observers suggest it lasted about 3.5 seconds and was as bright as the full moon. The green colour was also mentioned by some. Videos are on twitter

A fireball is a bright shooting star. It is produced the same way a normal shooting star: a stone in space hitting the atmosphere. A brighter one is formed from a larger stone. A green colour would suggest the presence of nickel in the stone.

The "closeness" is an optical illusion. All meteors start about 100km above the ground. But your brain associates "brightness" with "closeness", so brighter ones seem nearer.

James K
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