Meteorite believed to have exploded over Cuba

HAVANA -- Cuba apparently experienced a phenomenon similar to, though smaller, than the meteorite that detonated over Russia last week, island media reported.

Startled residents described a bright light in the sky and a loud explosion that shook windows and walls, reports said. No injuries or damage were reported.

In a video from a state TV newscast posted on the website CubaSi late Friday, unidentified residents of the central city of Rodas, near Cienfuegos, said the explosion was impressive. "My home shook completely," said a woman in the video. "I had never heard such a strange thing."

Marcos Rodriguez, whom the video identified as a specialist in anthropology, said all signs point to a meteorite.

According to scientists, five to 10 smaller meteorites hit the planet each year. Larger events like the one over Russia are more rare, and some experts said it may have been the biggest such blast since another meteor hit Siberia in 1908.

Also Friday, residents of the San Francisco Bay Area reported seeing a fireball in the sky that scientists said was probably a piece of space rock. Another meteor in the same area last October caused a loud sonic boom. -- AP