BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB/Gray News) - A bright fireball was caught on camera as it streaked across the skies of the southern United States early Sunday.

The fireball was spotted shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday by observers in multiple southern states, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas. Most witnesses reported seeing it in the eastern or southeastern sky.

There is no indication the meteor survived its fiery passage through the atmosphere to reach the ground.

Caught on camera

The fireball was captured by multiple cameras in WAFB’s Sky9 camera network, with the clearest view coming from the camera atop Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Other Sky9 cameras did not capture the fireball itself but recorded the bright flash it produced, briefly illuminating the pre-dawn sky.

Viewer Alex Jerome submitted footage from a security camera on his property in Denham Springs.

Viewer Katie Bownds also submitted video from her doorbell camera in St. Francisville.

What is a fireball?

The American Meteor Society defines a fireball as an exceptionally bright meteor that appears in the sky at roughly the same brightness as the planet Venus.

Fireballs are produced when larger pieces of space debris – typically ranging from pebble-sized to about a meter across – enter Earth’s atmosphere. They can be visible over hundreds of miles and, in some cases, even during daylight.

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