TOKYO — A bright shooting star crossed the sky above Tokyo early Thursday with many people saying they heard it explode.

Social media came alive after the 2:30 a. incident, with many people saying they heard a large bang, with some saying they mistook the sound for noise made by people living above them.

"I thought a person living (in the condo) above knocked down a shelf," wrote one Twitter user, while another said, "I thought my child sleeping on the second floor fell out of bed."

Others who were awake at the time witnessed the sky suddenly lighting up.

A man who captured the fireball with a camera installed at his home in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, said it crossed the northern sky from west to east.

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