It’s a bird… it’s a plane… it’s a blue meteor? Fireball? Piece of a comet?
Whatever it was, it lit up the night sky for millions of people in Spain and Portugal early Sunday morning. Social media users took beautiful photos and videos so that everyone could enjoy the natural science phenomenon.
The spectacular sight crossed the night sky at 12:46 a.m., according to CCTV footage released by the mayor’s office in Cádiz.
The European Space Agency (ESA) Operations says the ‘blue meteor’ everyone is referring to was actually ‘a small piece of a comet’ that flew over European countries at a speed of 45 kilometers per second, which equates to almost 45 kilometers . .
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It burned up over the Atlantic Ocean at an altitude of 40 miles, or more than 60 miles above the surface.
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“The chance of finding meteorites is very low,” ESA Operations tweeted after the agency’s Planetary Defense Office analyzed the object’s size and trajectory.
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration explains that the color was likely due to magnesium, and that “the color of the meteor depends on whether emissions from metal atoms or emissions from air plasma dominate.”
“Short period comets, also known as periodic comets, originate from a disc-shaped band of icy objects known as the Kuiper Belt beyond the orbit of Neptune, where gravitational interactions with the outer planets drag these bodies inward, where they become active comets,” That states Space.com.
Many on social media called what they saw a “once in a lifetime spectacle,” according to news.com.au, with at least one joking: “That’s not a meteor, that’s Optimus Prime.”
Mitch Picasso of Fox News contributed to this report.
Original article source: Blue flash captured in the night sky over Spain, Portugal lights up social media
