If you see a light flashing in the sky, what likely is it?

• A. Ice
• B. Meteoroid
• C. A UFO
• D. Another planet

Answer: (B)

A bright flash in the sky is typically a meteor, which happens when a small piece of rock from space—called a meteoroid—enters Earth’s atmosphere and heats up from air friction. That intense heating makes the rock glow and streak across the sky as a brief flash or shooting star. If any fragment survives the burn and reaches the ground, it’s called a meteorite, but the flash you see is the meteoroid burning up as a meteor.

Ice wouldn’t suddenly glow and flash in the sky, a UFO is an exotic explanation that isn’t supported by the natural, common cause here, and another planet wouldn’t produce a quick, brief flashing signal. So the most likely explanation for a flashing light is a meteoroid burning up in the atmosphere.