You know that moment when you casually glance at the sky at night during a meaningless conversation with your significant other and you see something so odd it makes you question if you accidentally stumbled onto the set of a sci-fi movie? That was me last night. I was just minding my own business listening to my husband explain something about RV slide motors while riding back to the RV park (as a passenger princess) when I spotted a massive vertical line of fire in the northern sky. It appeared to be not moving, but it had to be….it had to have been a meteor–right? And let me tell you, it wasn’t your average “blink and you’ll miss it” shooting star. Oh no, this bad boy was putting on a pyrotechnic show that made me want to turn on my own party lights at home.

There it was—a vertical line of what can only be described as literal fire hanging in the dark sky. Naturally, we slammed on the brakes (okay, we were on the interstate, so we did not slam on the breaks–we just slowed down a little) and took the next exit off the interstate where I started snapping pics and videos like my life depended on it. Zooming in, I could see the glowing gases and flames that made it look like the universe was having a bit of a meltdown. The sheer randomness of it all made it even cooler. One minute it’s a quiet, starry night, the next you’re watching the cosmos remind you why space is a crazy wild card.

If you’re curious about meteor activity, check out this handy report for all the deets. Who knows—maybe you’ll catch one of these fiery wonders and have your own “what the heck is happening up there?” moment. Just don’t forget to look up. The sky is full of surprises, and you never know when it’ll put on a show just for you.  Craziness.

Here is a zoomed in shot that is obviously not that great–it really did look like a vertical line of flames churning like a campfire–without a meteor head.