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At least 60 reports flooded into NASA on Tuesday night when a blinding light of unknown origin split the skies in half around 6.33pm local time.
Several residents along Florida’s west coast immediately took to Twitter to report the unusual event.
One Twitter user, John3, tweeted: “#Naples #Florida What did I just see? #shootingstar? #Meteor? #Meteorite? #UFO.”
Another person, Debra Dewrell Madiedo, also said: “Was on I75 going North around Naples and saw a streak of light shoot across the sky.”
The mysterious flying object burst out into the night sky out of nowhere, before exploding behind the cover of clouds.
Many locals managed to capture the bizarre fireball on video and shared it online to uncover the truth about the incident.
One family in Riverview managed to film the object on a security camera mounted outside their house. Elsewhere, the fireball was caught on a dashcam near Little Road and 54 outside Trinity.
Under mounting pressure from the public, NASA were forced to reveal that the object was in fact a speeding meteor and not an alien UFO.
The American space agency told ABC Ation News that the flaming asteroid fragment burst into the atmosphere and broke up over the Gulf of Mexico.
NASA tracked the 10inch-wide meteor some 35 miles west of Naples where it crash landed into the Gulf.
The non-profit American Meteor Society (AMS) also reviewed over 55 witness reports from locals who were caught off-guard by the meteor.
Ryan Cooper, who saw the meteor over West Palmetto, said: “It looked like the second video but 10 times closer! It was an amazing site for sure.
“I could even see pieces breaking off of it! So many colors! Sadly no video or pictures.”
In another report, Matt Hinkle added: “I saw it in Port Charlotte. Was at Murdoc Walmart. It was like a bright spark as if someone was welding in the sky. Very cool sight to witness.”
AMS compiled all of the fireball reports into an interactive map which you can find here.
The news comes just days ahead of the annual Geminid meteor shower, where up to 120 meteors an hour are expected to break out in the night sky.
Jane Houston-Jones form NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena said: “The Gemini’s peak on the morning of December 14 and are active from December 4 to December 17.
“The peak lasts for a full 24 hours, meaning more world-wide meteor watchers will get to see the spectacle.”