Debris may be source of light show

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Streaks of brilliant light that were spotted from Texas to Nebraska on Saturday night apparently were caused by space debris breaking up, authorities said.

A dispatcher at the Kansas Turnpike Authority in Wichita said callers reported the lights from the Oklahoma border to near Kansas City. In Hastings, Neb., meteorologist Larry Wirth of the National Weather Service reported calls from Kearney and Clay Center.

Wirth said callers described a bright light that crossed the horizon from southwest to northeast and broke.

"People said it appeared to break up into about 30 little balls, with tails, more or less like fireworks," Wirth said.

Wirth said NORAD -- the North American Air Defense Command -- reported to the Federal Aviation Administration's regional center in Minneapolis that some kind of space debris had broken up in the atmosphere.

NORAD monitors satellites and other space junk that re-enter the atmosphere.

The Associated Press received telephone calls about the lights from Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Enid, Edmond, Owasso, Shawnee and McAlester. Broadcasters reported that the lights were seen as far away as Denison, Texas.