From Georgia to South Carolina and Tennessee, a mysterious flaming object could be seen streaking the sky on Thursday afternoon, leaving a trail of exhaust in its wake, and then dramatically plunking toward the ground.

Scientists, meteorologists and even law enforcement officials in those states were working to figure out what had caught the attention of drivers and observers in such a wide swath of the South. The sightings prompted hundreds of calls to the authorities.

It was not clear if it was a meteorite, space debris or something else.

There were about 130 reports of fireball sightings in 20 states, according to the American Meteor Society, beginning just after noon. It was not clear how many of those were related to the event seen on videos circulating on Thursday.

In Georgia and South Carolina, observers even called 911 to report the flying object, according to local news outlets.