4 things to know about the meteor spotted over Maryland

In this long exposure photo, a streak appears in the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower at the Guadarrama mountains, near Madrid, in the early hours of Aug. 12, 2016. Francisco Seco/AP

The Baltimore region got a glimpse of a meteor falling Monday around 7:45 p.m., according to reports filed with the American Meteor Society.

The video of the light streaking across the sky was captured and posted to the social media platform X. The meteor could also be seen in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, according to reports sent to the American Meteor Society.

Don’t fret, though — a falling meteor doesn’t mean the end of the world or the same fate as the dinosaurs, which scientists say were destroyed by the impact of an asteroid.

“Meteor events like that are rare that people notice them, but they happen relatively frequently and are a completely natural occurrence,” said Ben Fernando, a postdoctoral fellow in earth and planetary science at the Johns Hopkins University. “While it might be something interesting to see, it’s not something to worry about.”

Here are four things to know about falling meteors.

How common are meteors?

Meteors that fall to Earth are also often called “shooting stars” and are a common occurrence, according to NASA. While some scientists report that as much as 48.5 tons of material from meteors enter the earth’s atmosphere every day, Kevin Lewis, Morton K. Blaustein vice chairman and professor in Earth and Planetary Science at Johns Hopkins University, estimates the range is closer to of 50 to 100 tons per day.

What are they?

Most of the meteors discovered on Earth come from what NASA describes as “shattered asteroids.” Lewis said that “fragmented” might be a better term. Some of the material also comes from distant planets, such as Mars and Venus. In addition, asteroids can shed material from impacts and collisions, or gravitational effects, and that dust, sand or larger rocks can then impact the Earth at a later date, according to Fernando.

Are they dangerous?

Meteors can travel tens of thousands of miles per hour, but they often break apart or disintegrate in the Earth’s atmosphere, rendering them virtually harmless. NASA estimates that less than 5% of the original meteor will reach the ground.

A lot can be left from large meteors when they fall to Earth, and scientists can glean much information from them, including data about the history of the solar system. Although meteors tend to fall all over the world, it’s much easier to find fragments over flat, uninhabited areas, like Utah, Nevada and the Sahara Desert.

How many have hit Earth?

Scientists estimate that more than 50,000 meteorites have been discovered on Earth. There are also 190 craters created on Earth because of the impact of a meteor.

Have a news tip? Contact Todd Karpovich at [e-mail], on X as @ToddKarpovich