Source: Forbes

The American Meteor Society received over 115 sighting reports, many of them centered around the Austrian city of Salzburg, including some dramatic videos and images like the one above.

While most fireball events are fleeting, lasting perhaps a few seconds, this monster grew progressively brighter as it fell to the ground over the course of nearly half a minute.

Several all-sky cameras from the German AllSky7 fireball network caught the event. You can watch the increasingly dramatic compilation below. The cameras with a closer vantage point clearly show the bolide breaking apart into multiple fireballs as it descends and flames out.

An analysis from the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences estimated the bolide to be about 600 pounds and that it entered the atmosphere at speeds over 31,000 miles per hour. It made itself visible for over 24 seconds, during which time it traversed over 180 miles.

The scientists estimate that two meteorites weighing up to nine pounds may have made it to the ground, but they probably fell in a mountainous region “so finding meteorites will be quite complicated.”

Source: Forbes