A mysterious fireball was spotted in the sky over Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada on Friday. The spectacular illumination amazed thousands of people in the region, who speculated this object to be a comet/meteor, a burning plane, or even aliens. Several eyewitnesses said they felt scared to see this sight.

On Saturday, the American Meteor Society (AMS) revealed that this mysterious object was neither a comet nor any alien vehicle. Rather, it was the spent body of the Antares supply rocket that was predicted to make a reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere on Friday.

The AMS revealed that a total of 11 sightings were officially reported. The burning object was seen in North Battleford, Regina, Clavet, Gravelbourg, Punnichy, Pierceland, Zehner, and several other areas, according to the CBC. The object remained visible in the sky for about 20 seconds, and many people captured the event on their cameras. Some eyewitness even posted their clippings on social media, seeking an explanation about this sight from other people.

According to the Aerospace Corporation, the Antares rocket was launched on November 12, 2017, as part of the Cygnus CRS OA-8E ISS mission, and its spent body was predicted to enter the Earth’s atmosphere at 11:09 p.m. CST on Friday. The rocket, designed by Orbital Sciences Corporation, is an expendable launch system that is used to send the Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station.

Mystery fireball seen breaking up over Saskatchewan, Alberta: There are burning questions after reports of a... https://t.co/irbnXaQGcw — Canada Today (@CanadaToday24h) November 25, 2017

“I’d expect to see something flying from west to east, faster than an aircraft at high altitude with a trail following behind it and it appearing to break up into pieces,” said Eric Briggs, who previously saw a rocket reentering the Earth’s atmosphere about 13 years ago. Briggs is currently a volunteer with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

According to scientists, it is not unusual for the people living in the rural Canada to witness some stunning natural phenomena. Less amount of light pollution in these regions means that a clear view of such events is usually available for viewers. Each year, multiple sightings of meteors breaking up in the atmosphere are also reported from these regions.

Check out this video out of Saskatchewan, CAN! The @amsmeteors received 18 reports of a fireball seen over Alberta and Saskatchewan early Saturday morning. pic.twitter.com/tjgn0mSF9A — WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) November 26, 2017

Meteors are the shooting stars that create streaks of light in the night sky. These light streaks are caused by small bits of rocks and dust (meteoroids) entering the Earth’s atmosphere. After entering the atmosphere, these rocks burn up to produce the light.

During some specific periods of the year, a large number of meteors are seen in the night sky. These events, known as meteor showers, occur when the Earth passes through the dust particles left by a comet orbiting around the sun. Meteor showers are named based on the constellation from which they appear to originate.

[Featured Image by Handout/Getty Images]