Starship Asterisk*

I just saw something strange. I took the dog outside and was looking up at Orion, when i saw an explosion off to the left and slightly down from the three star belt. The explosion was bright orange and yellow and lasted just a brief second. I don't have any way of explaining the size other than if you held your hand up to the sky, the explosion was about the size of your little finger nail. The time was about 1am (Central Standard Time) and I am located in Northern Texas about an hour north of Dallas. I wasn't sure what it was and hoped someone here could help to identify it. It was exciting to see and i remembered the Picture of the Day site in my favorites and joined the forum to find out what it was that I say.

My guess is you saw a "shooting star" or small meteor burning up in the sky. I have seen those also on ocassion - I see what looks like a bright star, then suddenly a bright "poof" and then it's gone. No noise.