East Coast meteor - FOX 35 News Orlando

People across the Eastern seaboard reported seeing what they believed to be a meteor on Friday night.

It happened about 8 p.m.  There were Twitter and Facebook reports from Maine to North Carolina about spotting the bright object streaking across the sky.

A Fox 5 News crew saw the bright light object race across the Manhattan skyline.

A Maryland woman caught images of the object on a home security camera.

Donald Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program in Pasadena, Calif., said he's aware of the reports and that they appear to be consistent with a meteor shower.

Yeomans told The Associated Press that he didn't know the cause of the Friday night sightings. He said meteor showers are not that rare, but added "it's unusual to have so many people see it."

The American Meteor Society had more than 500 reports of the meteor.

Robert Lunsford says that meteors often appear much closer than they really are.

In a blog post for the AMS he wrote:  "There is often a common misconception that the object appeared nearby when in fact the actual flight path was several hundred miles away and was witnessed over several states. It is your perspective that makes meteors appear to strike the horizon when in fact they are still high in the atmosphere."

If you caught an image of the meteor, you can email it to fox5video@gmail.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.