Almost 500 people in Florida, other parts of the southern US report meteor

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — For almost 500 people in the southeastern United States, getting up early Thursday was its own reward.

Some 495 people in eight states reported seeing a slow and bright fireball about 6:50 a.m. Most reports to the American Meteor Society came from North Carolina and South Carolina.

The group says it also received reports from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Reports indicate the meteor traveled west to east, ending its flight east of Ivanhoe.

A week earlier, the AMS received over 260 reports from people in 14 states about a fireball above the Ashokan Reservoir in New York.

Meteors peak in April. They're pieces of rock that vaporize when they enter the Earth's atmosphere and turn into streaks of light.