911 showered with calls about objects

STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
MERCER, Pa. -- The Mercer County 911 Center received a number of calls about flaming objects in the sky Tuesday night.
Officials said they immediately checked with the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport to determine if any airplanes had gone down and found none had. One of the callers had reported hearing an airplane flying overhead about the time the objects were spotted, a 911 supervisor said.
Scientific explanation: When the airport reported no unusual airplane activity, the 911 Center contacted the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh and learned the area had been hit by a meteor shower, the supervisor said.
Residents across Beaver County reported seeing a fiery red object shoot across the Tuesday night sky.
The Beaver County Emergency Services Center and National Weather Service in Moon Township near Pittsburgh received calls shortly after the object was spotted around 7:45 p.m. Witnesses say the red object had a flaming tail and described it as much larger than a shooting star.
Meteorologist Roger Stairs said descriptions of the object resemble a bolide, which is a larger part of a meteor fragment.
Curtis Digiovine, president of the Amateur Astronomers of Beaver County, said a bolide is typically about the size of a basketball. They typically react with the atmosphere and don't make it to the ground.