MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Eclipse-viewers around the Butler County area may have spotted something other than a stunning celestial display lighting up the darkened sky.
Several videos submitted to WCPO and posted on various social media sites show what appears to be a fireball streaking through the sky during the total solar eclipse on April 8.
You can watch video of the fireball in the player below:
While some commented the fireball appeared to be a comet, others pointed out its trajectory and path through the skies didn't look quite right — and they'd be correct.
It wasn't a bird, plane or comet: It was Team Fastrax.
John Hart II, chairman of the skydiving group with a base in Middletown, said the spectacle was the work of Team Fastrax's skydivers.
Hart said he was personally working on the ground safety crew for the stunt that day.
Their most popular types of shows explains why folks looking upward toward the eclipse saw not a person but a ball of fire: The pyrotechnic shows.
"Resembling a falling meteorite, four or more highly trained and specially licensed Senior Team Fastrax demonstrators will jump from the aircraft at 13,000 feet," reads the team's website description of the High-Altitude Freefall Pyrotechnic Skydive Starburst Show.
As part of the show, pyrotechnics are ignited and spectators "will see a flaming fireball leaving a 1,000-foot trail."
Here's what the stunt looked like from the skydiver's perspective:
Team Fastrax has performed in Moscow, Qatar, China, France, over the World Trade Center site for a 9/11 ceremony in New York City, the Pentagon in D.C., Independence Hall in Philadelphia and over the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, according to the company's website.
The team "is the largest professional parachute demonstration team in the world," the website reads.
They're also no stranger to performing in the local region, including for Independence Day celebrations in Middletown.
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