SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A streaking ball of light over northeast South Dakota this week created a celestial stir among stargazers in KELOLAND. Astronomers say the video posted by Watertown police Thursday of that burst of light was most likely a type of meteor known as a fireball.

We’re getting a clearer picture of that sudden burst of light caught on camera near Watertown on Thursday.

“The fact that it sort of lit up twice is characteristic of some of these fireball meteoroids when they enter,” Augustana University Physics Professor Nathan Grau said.

Meteor sightings are very common in South Dakota. They’re simply small specks of space dust that burn up when they enter the earth’s atmosphere. But bigger chunks, these so-called fireballs, create a much brighter light snow and are more rare.

“You’re looking at maybe 5-percent of the meteors are going to do something like that, maybe even fewer, so one out of 100, a couple out of a hundred are going to be that bright,” Grau said.

If you want to to see a meteor for yourself, all you have to do is head outside on a cloudless night, away from city lights, and look up into the dark sky. But wait, there’s more! You don’t need a pair of binoculars or a telescope; they’ll only limit your field of vision. No, when you scan the sky for meteors, your two eyeballs are going to work just fine.

“We’re used to looking up at the sky and seeing the stars while they move slowly in the sky as the earth rotates. Seeing something like a meteor is clearly different, and it’s fun,” Augustana Physics Professor Eric Wells said.

Fast-moving meteors can’t escape the gaze of surveillance cameras. A visual reminder that these objects from space are right at home in the wide-open expanse of South Dakota.

“We kind of tend to forget about looking up sometimes and seeing the beauty that’s up in the sky,” Grau said.

Most meteors you see are barely the size of a grain of sand. But the Augustana professors say the fireball seen on Thursday could have been the size of anywhere between a pebble and a baseball.