A science institute in Northern California says it has received numerous reports of a bright streak of light over the San Francisco Bay area.

The Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland reports receiving calls describing what appeared to be a fireball flying west Friday night, but it's not clear what the object was.

Astronomer Gerald McKeegan tells KGO-TV that the center's large telescopes did not pick up the object during a stargazing event.

The reports came hours after a meteor exploded over Russia and injured more than 1,000 people and an asteroid passed relatively close to Earth.

Experts say smaller meteorites hit Earth five to 10 times a year but large meteors such as the one in Russia are rarer.