A fireball in the sky seen late Saturday night caused a flurry of social media posts and calls to local authorities from New Orleans and Florida to southern Illinois and southeast Missouri.
The bright, slow-moving streak blazed across the southern sky shortly after 10 p.m. It took more than 30 seconds to break into pieces and fade out, giving shocked onlookers plenty of time to get out their cellphones and take spectacular videos.
After that, conjecture was rampant on what the fireball could be. Some speculated that it was part of a meteor shower which was peaking this weekend. However, shooting stars move much more quickly and only last for a few seconds…