Security camera captures footage of huge unexplained ‘fireball’ streaking across sky in US

More than 700 people reported the incident to the American Meteor Society, but they have been unable to confirm the nature of the object

Hundreds of people in the US have reported seeing a huge "fireball" streaking through the sky over Iowa on Boxing Day.

Footage of the incident was caught on film by a security camera, and it was also captured by observers for the National Weather Services.

Witnesses said the "fireball" appeared as bright as the sun, shooting across the sky for several seconds before seeming to break up.

Though the object was also reported as emitting sonic activity similar to confirmed meteor sightings, the NWS said there was the possibility it could have been something else entirely.

"We're looking at the reports, also," the NWS’s Kurt Kotenberg told the Des Moines Register. "The interesting thing about it is, Venus was visible in the sky just after sunset."

More than 700 people sent reports of the incident to the American Meteor Society, which exists to promote interest in the extra-terrestrial bodies among amateur and professional astronomers.

Although many believe it to be a meteor, there has been no confirmation of the exact nature of the object - prompting some to come up with unusual theories to explain the Boxing Day phenomenon.