Video footage shot around 3.30am at Santiago del Estero, in Argentina's north, shows a large ball of light soar through the sky, completely illuminating a quiet street below, La Republica reports.
Startled locals quickly took to Facebook and Twitter to ask what had caused the night to briefly turn to day, with some speculating the phenomenon had been caused by a falling meteorite.
Jorge Coghlan, director of the Astronomical Observatory of Santa Fe, suggested the light could have been caused by a meteor that entered the atmosphere at high speed.
"This object disintegrated and was high so it could be seen for hundreds of miles, " he told La Gaceta.
Several other provinces in Argentina's north and centre also reported seeing a large ball of light that had lit up the dark sky.
"Meteors are smaller fragments. In this case, it was a larger object. We can calculate it was about 20cm in diameter," Mr Coghlan said.
Source: La Republica, La Gaceta
Author: Martin Zavan, Approving editor: Nick Pearson
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