California Fireball Lights Up Over Bay Area by 'Sporadic Meteor' [VIDEO]

After the meteor hit in Russia, and an asteroid that passed unusually close to Earth, residents in Northern California have reported of a bright streak of light over the San Francisco Bay area.

According to experts a "sporadic meteor" is believed to have caused a light streak across the western California sky Friday night.

Based on various accounts the flash of light was first reported around 7:45 p.m. in Santa Rosa and was seen as far south as San Jose and Morgan Hill. There have been no reports of damage following the incident.

"I was leaving Safeway on Branham and Snell when I saw it. It looked like it was headed for the Capital Auto Mall area. It was a bright green when it first appeared, then it went to a bright yellow. It was awesome!" Candice Guruwaiya posted on NBC BY Area's Facebook page.

"It looked just like the one I saw back in October except it was a little smaller. It was greenish in color just like the one on October. Everyone in the parking lot stopped and looked at it," Johnson wrote.

Jonathan Braidman, an instructor at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland shared, "This is a very common occurrence. What is uncommon is that it's so close to where people are living."

Braidman notes about 15,000 tons of debris from asteroids enter the earth's atmosphere every year.

"Usually these things break up into small pieces and are difficult to find," he said.

The fireball was spotted on the same night that a 150-foot-wide asteroid was due to come within 17,200 miles of Earth. So far no connections have been made between the California fireball and the meteorite that struck Russia on Friday or the asteroid that passed within 17,200 miles of Earth.

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