MADISON, Wis. -- A giant ball of fire lit up the sky Wednesday night throughout Wisconsin, Iowa and Missouri, and officials are still trying to determine exactly what it was.

SLIDESHOW: See Viewers' Photos Of Alleged Meteor

Anyone who has photos or video of the possible meteor can send it to tips@channel3000.com or upload photos or upload video.

Authorities were flooded with curious callers about a possible meteor streaking across the Midwestern sky that looked like a huge fireball. National Weather Service offices in La Crosse, Wis., Des Moines, Iowa, and Kansas City, Mo., received numerous reports of the fireball from law enforcement officials and the public.

The flash of light in the sky was reported just after 10 p.m. People from Iowa to Ohio have apparently reported seeing a fireball.

Witnesses reported seeing all sorts of colors and one big blast followed by several smaller blasts.

Forecasters said that a meteor shower called Gamma Virginids began April 4 and is expected to last to April 21 with peak activity Wednesday and Thursday, but they couldn't immediately confirm if Wednesday night's incident was part of that shower.

While there's been no official confirmation of what the alleged object was or the nature of the incident, some witnesses in southern Wisconsin are sharing what they saw and felt on Wednesday night.

Kim Kientiz, of Avoca, said she isn't usually up late on a weeknight, but said that Wednesday night was different.

"And it just all of a sudden got bright green. And then we were looking up and all of a sudden we saw this big ball of fire and it just went right in front of us," Kientiz said.

Some who saw it said they suspect it was a meteor. Portage police captured footage of the object on an officer's dashboard camera a little after 10 p.m. It's been described as a blue or green ball. Others even heard rumbling and felt shaking as it lit up the sky.

"I got on the phone with my husband and I told him, 'You'll never guess what we just saw.' And he started freaking out and he says, 'The whole house just shook and we heard a big boom," Kientiz said.

Jim Lattis, of UW Space Place, said his best guess is that it was a chunk of space rock.

"I've seen really bright meteors, fire ball meteors from time to time over the years. It sounds like this was a particularly good example." Lattis said.

But by using pictures and video people took, Lattis said more can be learned in the days to come.

"Then they know how far away it is, how fast it was moving, and people who do these calculations can figure out how big a rock we're talking about," Lattis said.

Whatever is was, those who saw the fireball fly through the sky said they won't soon forget it.

"It's just something you don't see. It's once in a lifetime to see and I was (there in the) right time, right place I guess," Kientiz said.

Jeff Boyle said he was on his way home from work in Waukesha when he saw a ball in the sky with a huge tail that was as bright as the sun.

Janesville resident Valon Pajaziti said he was returning from a friend's house to his home when he saw what he described as "the most amazing thing I have ever seen" just after 10 p.m.

"As I was parking my car and I got out of the car, I saw this big lightning falling down. I had my phone in my hand and I wanted to record it, but I was too focused and amazed by what was happening that I never got to recording it. I thought I took a few pictures, but I guess I only took one," said Pajaziti, who is originally from Kosovo.

Another resident, Luis Gaytan Tovar, also captured a photo of the incident through his car windshield as it passed overhead from north to south. His friend, Scott Mickelson, said the photo was taken just as the alleged object was breaking into multiple pieces.

Desiree Dailey, of Richland Center, said she spotted the object while standing on the corner of East Haseltine and South Sheldon Streets.

"It was really low. It was just a huge flame. It was really bright. I didn't know what it was. I thought it was a meteor," said Dailey.

Erik and Jenyl Nerenz said they were heading southbound on Interstate 39 when the sky suddenly lit up to the west at around 10:15 p.m.

"We saw an extremely bright light streak across the sky directly in front of us over the interstate. We watched the light burn out and split into what looked to be a few pieces and looked to be a 100 yards in front of us," said Jenyl Nerenz. "Whatever it was, was definitely on fire. It appeared to be heading toward the power plant in Portage. We traveled out to the area that we thought it had fallen in. We saw nothing, but noticed heavy animal traffic in that area."

Other south-central Wisconsin residents reported feeling a shaking sensation.

"I don't know for sure, but it sure felt like an earthquake here in Lancaster (in Grant County)," said Carol Burton. "It couldn't be thunder as the stars are shining. No emergency trucks or anything going on. It shook the whole house and rattled the windows."

Dodgeville's Denny Marklein also described what he thought could be a meteor.

"I observed what appeared to be the moon coming through an overcast sky. The light, which appeared far away, continued to get brighter as it approached from the west to the east. Out of the light appeared two large round very bright, fiery fireballs moving west to east. They had fairly long dazzling tails and appeared to be comet-like. They passed over my head and burned out," said Marklein.

Mark Jung called the sight "spectacular."

"I saw a very large fast moving object breaking up in the western sky near Lake Waubesa at 10:07 p.m. It looked like a meteor, but bigger than any I have ever seen before," said Jung.

See Additional Images Of Incident

Officials at the University of Wisconsin AOSS building said that they captured images of the incident on their rooftop Web cam. Those series of black-and-white images are available here.

KWWL-TV in Iowa obtained dashcam video footage from a Howard County sheriff's deputy that captured the incident.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.