American Meteor Society Investigating 200 Meteorite Reports in One Night [VIDEO]

The American Meteor Society is investigating reports that around 200 meteors went shooting across the sky in just one night.

One report from Northern Virginia said a brightly coloured fireball appeared in the night sky over Washington: "It was a beautiful greenish white with a long tail," an observer told Inside Nova.

Another said: "The fireball moved very fast and was brighter by far than any meteor I've ever witnessed. It almost looked like a fast moving green flare."

The meteorite appeared at around 7pm local time and was spotted by many drivers, prompting many reports to the AMS.

According to USA Today, reports of meteorites were also registered in Maryland, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

One caller from Fairfax said they saw a fireball that appeared as a "momentary flash following the trail of light". It was described it as bright and blue; it apparently disappeared very quickly. "This was the brightest shooting star I ever saw, seemed like it was coming down almost vertical," a caller said.

Another person calling from Springdale said they thought the meteorite appeared to hit the ground.

Speaking to Washington DC based news website Wtop, Geogg Chester from the US Naval Observatory said one of the meteorites was most likely a very bright type of meteor commonly known as a fireball.

"They occur on extremely clear nights and they generally get a lot of publicity when they happen," he said.