DENVER -- Researchers at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science worked overtime Saturday to determine the path of a large fireball that was seen ripping through the Denver sky late Friday evening.

Frank Sanders, a research associate at the museum, confirmed to 7News that the fireball was a "brilliant meteoroid."

The 7News newsroom, as well as the Museum of Nature and Science, was flooded with calls from eyewitnesses who claim that they saw the fireball in the skies over the area of I-225 and I-25. Sanders said the exact time the fireball could be seen over Colorado was 10:44 p.m.

According to Sanders, the object was probably a space rock that was traveling around 25,000 mph.

Once the rock crashed through the earth's atmosphere, according to Sanders, it became a meteoroid whose surface became extremely hot, thus causing the brilliant fire-like light show.

Space rocks entering the atmosphere is fairly common, according to Sanders. However, Sanders told 7News that a space rock entering the atmosphere and creating a fireball light show only occurs once or twice a year in Colorado skies.

"The major significance of fireballs is that they sometimes lead to the discovery of a meteorite on the ground," Sanders told 7News. "We do not yet know whether this object crashed into earth. If we do find out it crashed into earth it would be a significant scientific event."

The museum is asking for your help. If you saw the fire show and were in the area of southwest Colorado, near the Monarch Pass-area, you are asked to call the museum research scientists at (303) 370-6445.

If you have video of the fireball and would like to share it with 7News, call the newsroom at 303-832-0162.

For more information about the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, log on to their web site.