WICHITA, Kansas -- If you saw an unusual bright light moving across the sky Wednesday night, chances are, you were looking at a meteor.
A patrol car dash camera in northern Texas captured the falling meteor as it was streaking across the sky around 8 p.m. Wednesday night.
"There was a bright light that was seen in the sky from Wichita through Oklahoma and down into Texas,” said director of Lake Afton Observatory, Greg Novacek.
Traveling anywhere from ten to forty miles per second, he estimates it landed in Texas, just south of Waco.
"There was actually a sonic boom heard near Waco from the meteor,” said Novacek.
While most meteorites are never found because they land in the ocean, Kansans seem to stumble upon the space rocks more often than others.
“Kansas actually ranks second in the U.S. for recorded meteorite falls and the only state ahead of us is Texas," said Wichita Meteorite Society Founder, Jerry Calvert.
That is because farmers plow up much of the state, exposing the meteorites.
"They claim that every square mile of the earth has a meteorite on it, at least one meteorite , so the trick then comes how you can actually identify them,” said Calvert.
"The best way to check is to get a magnet, and if it sticks, chances are you've found a meteorite,” said Novacek.
Meteorites hit earth about once a day, people just usually do not notice them.
What makes Wednesday night’s meteor so special is the fact that people actually saw it, thanks to clear, dark skies, timing, and location.
If you spot a meteor the size of Wednesday night’s, you will have about twenty seconds to notice it, whereas a shooting star burns out within about two seconds.
