Giant Fireball Lights up Sky Above Tokyo - Video

Shooting stars, while special, aren't very rare. If you watch the sky regularly on dark nights for several hours at a time, you'll probably notice a dazzlingly bright meteor about twice a year, according to astronomers.

An extremely bright meteor, or a so-called bolide, lit up the sky over the Kanto region of eastern Japan at around 2:30 a.m. Thursday (5:30 p.m. Wednesday GMT), according to The Japan Times.

Several witnesses said that they heard a loud explosion, noticing that the sky suddenly lit up.

A video showing the moment has appeared online, revealing a large fireball crossing from west to east.

According to the report, which cited an official at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, a bolide "shines very brightly if it is big or travels fast". It is rare for the sound of a bolide to be heard, the official said. 

The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan said that "several fireballs are observed every month on average, but it is rare for people to hear anything".