TEXAS — A bright flash in the sky caught the attention of many on Sunday night. Hundreds of reports from Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana stemmed from the event.

Witnesses saw a meteor-like structure emerge from the clouds over Cistern, Texas, and make a downward plummet. The American Meteor Society called the meteor a fireball, saying it burned up once in the Earth’s atmosphere, coming to a stop a few miles south of Austin.

Some that recall the meteor sighting said they also heard a delayed sonic boom. AMS explained that this may indicate the fireball’s survival in the lower atmosphere.

A fireball is just another term for a “larger… very bright meteor… generally brighter than magnitude -4,” according to AMS.

AMS projected the meteor to be the size of a compact car before its arrival in the atmosphere. “Most meteors are only the size of tiny pebbles. A meteor the size of a softball can produce light equivalent to the full moon for a short instant. Observing during one of the major annual meteor showers can increase your chance of seeing another one of these bright meteors,” according to AMS. They contribute the brightness to the extreme velocity at which these meteors strike.

Fireballs are an everyday phenomenon, however, it’s uncommon for someone to spot a fireball more than once or twice in a lifetime.

This fireball could likely be a part of the alpha Capricornids’ meteor shower that peaks on the night of July 30 or 31.