Daytime Dashcam Footage Shows Bright Fireball Over North Port, Florida
A dash-mounted camera recorded a bright, burning object streaking across the daytime sky over North Port, Florida, on Nov. 11. The video, shot by Drew McKinley and shared on social media, shows the luminous object plunging toward the horizon as it burns.
Local meteorologists at WSVN, the ABC affiliate, said the streak was most likely a meteor — though they noted it could also have been debris or space junk burning up as it entered Earth's atmosphere.
Why experts think it was a Leonid
The sighting coincided with the Leonids Meteor Shower, which is active in mid-November and peaks around Nov. 16–17. A meteorologist quoted by Gulf Coast News suggested the flash could be related to that shower. According to NASA, Leonid meteors can travel at roughly 44 miles per second, making them some of the fastest meteors observed.
Meteor terminology: small space rocks are meteoroids; when they enter Earth's atmosphere and heat up they are called meteors. If fragments survive and reach the ground, they are known as meteorites.
Fireballs and Earth-grazers
NASA describes two notable Leonid appearances: fireballs — intense, long-lasting bursts of light produced by larger cometary particles — and Earth-grazers, which skim the horizon and can leave long, colorful trails. The dashcam clip appears to show a bright, fast-moving object consistent with a fireball or a burning fragment of space debris.
The Leonids are expected to remain active through about Dec. 2, with their main peak on Nov. 16–17. USA TODAY has contacted NASA for additional comment regarding the North Port sighting.
Daytime sightings of meteors or fireballs are less common and often draw attention because the bright object must be unusually luminous to be visible against daylight skies.
If you capture similar footage, note the date, time and location and report it to local astronomical societies or organizations that track fireball reports.
