Mysterious 'fireball' lights up sky in the Maritimes

Tuesday, March 18, 2014, 3:13 PM -

Several Maritimers say they woke-up to a mysterious bright flash that lit up the sky early Tuesday morning.

"So, that bright light seen this morning could very well have been a meteor. Or something," tweeted hfx news: haligonia.

RCMP officials in Nova Scotia say they received a few calls from the Chester area around 5 am. 

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"They described it as a yellow flare in the sky," explains Sergeant Alain Leblanc. "But that’s all we know at this time."

Reports of the bright flash also came in from New Brusnwick, Prince Edward Island and parts of Quebec near the Gaspé Peninsula.

Many say the light was so bright that it got them out of bed, while one witness told CTV News on social media that "she braced for impact when she saw the light."

It is not yet known exactly what caused the bright light, but there are reports that the International Space Station was passing over the region at that time.

Burning "space junk" is another possible explanation of the fireball that lit up the sky.

According to NASA, the ISS had to dodge a piece of space debris that was in its orbit on Sunday.

With files from CBC.ca