VIDEO: Flaming comet turns the sky bright green over Spain
Day turned to night in dozens of towns in Spain as the brilliant light lit up the sky
Stargazers were stopped in their tracks in the early hours of Sunday May 19 as a radiant greenish-blue comet lit up the night sky across Spain and Portugal. Dashcam footage recorded the fiery phenomenon trailing a brilliant blue tail which eventually burst in a spectacular explosion.
The European Space Agency (ESA) described the display as a “stunning meteor” travelling at roughly 1,700mph. The ESA later confirmed that the incredible light was caused by a “small piece of a comet” that had burned up over the Atlantic Ocean, and a high concentration of magnesium is what created the vivid blue-green hue.
According to the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalucia (IAA-CSIS), the unbelievable sight was visible from more than a dozen autonomous communities across Spain, including Andalucia, Aragón, Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Madrid, the Valencian Community, Extremadura and Galicia.
Un meteorito atraviesa el cielo de Pontevedra y lo ilumina de verde.
— Angel Boon (@angelboon_) May 19, 2024
Según leo por ahi cayó finalmente en Portugal.
He visto muchos vídeos pero este que os pongo creo que es de los más impresionantes. 😱☄️
Comentad si sabéis algo del temita.
Os leo h os respondo. 👁#meteorito pic.twitter.com/ovDcnkiXG8
At precisely 12.46am, the Spanish sky turned from night to day for a fraction of a second when the comet reached its maximum luminosity.
Incredulous witnesses who called the authorities to report the sighting said that they observed “a very strong point of light”, similar to “a firework”, and that it crossed the sky for a few seconds and made “it become daylight for a few seconds”.
As it passed over the country, it left a trail “like the trails left by airplanes, but with a lot of light,” one person added.
Comets and meteors are both fascinating objects commonly observed in the night sky, but they are quite different. A meteor, also known as a shooting star, is a small piece of matter that usually breaks away from an asteroid and looks like a streak of light flashing from the sky when it enters the Earth’s atmosphere.
On the other hand, comets are celestial bodies composed primarily of ice, dust and rocky particles that orbit the Sun. When comets venture closer to the Sun, the intense radiation melts the frozen components, releasing gas and dust, forming a glowing, ethereal tail that stretches millions of kilometres into space.
In other news: Spain launches its revamped heatwave early warning system
Image: Angel Boon / X
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