[UPDATE: NASA confirms streak across sky was meteor]



The skies over the Birmingham area may have experienced a visit from a fireball, or meteor, in roughly the last half hour.

There have been numerous reports on Twitter of a bright flash of light in the sky, as well as reports of loud booms.

Matt Grantham -- a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Birmingham -- told AL.com he could not confirm that the occurrence was a meteor but said that he suspects that it was, based on some of the same reports on social media.

"My guess is that it would be a fireball, a meteor passing though the atmosphere," he said.

Grantham said that the NWS is seeing reports of this occurrence all the way to Columbus, Ga.

Twitter users reported seeing a streak across around 8:45 from locations including Pelham, North Jefferson County, Cullman and Irondale.

The Vestavia Hills Fire Department, for example, responded to about four reports of a loud boom that was heard in the Shades Crest Road area.

Some concertgoers at the Mumford & Sons concert at the Oak Mountain Amphitheater reported seeing the light streak across the sky.

Dozens of witnesses have reported seeing the event on the American Meteor Society web site, many from Alabama. Other reports came from Georgia and Tennessee.

"It was something I have never seen before," said a resident in Harpersville.

Amazing, it was beautiful," said an observer in Northport.

"This is the largest meteor fireball I've ever seen!" according to an observer in Lewisburg, Tenn.

Julie Marchman, in an email to AL.com, said that she spotted the fireball over Duluth, Ga.

"It was a huge streak of light in the sky that looked like something falling through space into our atmosphere," she said. "It change colors (from white to green to red I think). Simply amazing!"

The American Meteor Society tracks fireball sightings. If you think you saw a fireball tonight,

Also, if you have pictures tweet them to

or email

.

Updated at 8 a.m. Tuesday with video from the Marshall Space Flight Center.