about 5 years ago i was driving home one night.
it was several hours past sunset.
as i was driving down this deserted highway, all of a sudden the landscape was lit up, just like it would be if lightning had struck nearby.
i could make out farmyards and buildings a mile infront of me.
i know there's no way it could have been lightning, because this was manitoba in february (the temperature was around -20 C), and it was a clear night.
so i wondered if the sky was lit up by a meteor.
then just last night we were sitting out in the yard after dark, and the same thing happened.
the sky suddenly became brighter for a second.
it was just like a small lightning strike.
we turned our heads up and to the east just in time to see a meteor fading away.
my question is: can a meteor really throw off enough light to light up the sky like that, and if so, does this occur very often??