Bright balls of fire were seen soaring across the southern US and, despite many witnesses, it's unclear what exactly the mysterious objects were.

People reported seeing the fireballs throughout much of the South, with most witnesses in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, according to the America Meteor Society.

Based on videos shared by witnesses, it appears there was initially one large object that broke apart in the night sky, creating a fiery shower in our atmosphere that lingered.

Could it have been a meteor? Space debris?

"I don't think it's a comet or meteor," WBRZ meteorologist Malcolm Byron said on X, formerly Twitter. "When these fireballs last for more than 10 seconds, it's often a satellite or other space junk reentering the atmosphere. Not confirmed, but that's my hunch."

Astronomer Jonathan McDowell believes the mystery fireball was a Chinese satellite that burned up after reentering Earth's atmosphere.

McClatchy News has reached out to NASA for comment.

While space debris doesn't often make such a fiery spectacle, man-made objects commonly fall to earth from outer space, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"On average, a total of between 200-400 tracked objects enter Earth's atmosphere every year. That's about one every day," NOAA says. "This is largely a numbers game. Human populations live on a small percentage of the Earth's total surface area. So any objects that do not burn up and disintegrate upon atmosphere re-entry are likely to fall into the ocean (which covers over 70% of the surface of the Earth) or a sparsely populated land area."