Huge fireball in sky caught on police dash-cam

A massive fireball that illuminated the north-eastern US and parts of neighbouring Canada in the early hours of Tuesday morning is believed to have been a meteor.

The ball of light was caught on film by police dashboard cameras in two separate states as it hurtled hundreds of miles through the night sky at around 1am local time. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"95051","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]

One police dash-cam caught the streak of light over Plattsburgh in New York state, while a patrol car hunting for speeding motorists in Portland, Maine also captured startling footage of what experts say is a meteor burning up as it plummets towards Earth. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"95052","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]

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"The fireball was seen primarily from Maine," says the American Meteor Society (AMS), but witnesses from Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, as well as Ontario and Quebec in Canada also reported the event.

One witness, from Canton, Maine, recounted his experience to the AMS. "There was a three to five minute delay from the time I saw it to the boom I heard and felt, [which was] very loud and shook the home," said the man, who calls himself Craig C. He added that the event was "unlike anything I have ever experienced before".

In a tongue-in-cheek Facebook post, the Portland Police Department in Maine joked about the possibility of an alien invasion.

"Let's hope the visitors are friendly," said the post, speculating that little green men could be on their way to say hello to one of Maine's favourite sons and king of the supernatural, author Stephen King.