Fiery blue meteor illuminates European skies as it crosses from Portugal to Spain | Watch
A fiery blue meteor lit up European night sky on Saturday evening.
A meteor was spotted in the night skies over Spain and Portugal on Saturday evening, stunning citizens with its bright blue coloring.
Early reports suggest a meteor was spotted in the skies over Spain and Portugal on Saturday evening. A new report has surfaced suggesting the same meteor may have landed in the city of Pinheiro.
However, it has not been confirmed at this time whether it indeed impacted the Earth’s surface.
A #meteorite flashed across the skies of #Europe, spanning across #Portugal and #Spain, turning the night sky into day momentarily! pic.twitter.com/3P0C01CzDj
— Punenow News (@itspunenow) May 19, 2024
People, as can be seen in the video, were amazed to look at the astronomical phenomena. Such sightings are rare and for some, are once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Many netizens, took to X, to express their amazement and somewhat confusion at seeing a fiery blue blob illuminate the night sky.
What are meteors, and why do they fall to Earth?
According to National Geographic, a meteor is a streak of light in the sky. A meteor is a space rock that falls through Earth’s atmosphere; it is also known as a shooting star or a falling star. The website adds, “A meteoroid heats up as it enters the Earth’s upper atmosphere due to air friction. A meteor appears when the heat causes the gases surrounding the meteoroid to shine brightly. Meteors are commonly known as shooting stars or falling stars due to the dazzling tail of light they produce as they travel through the sky. The majority of meteors strike in the mesosphere, which is 50 to 80 kilometers (31 to 50 miles) above the Earth’s surface.
Previous Meteor Sightings
On Wednesday night, February 22nd, a glittering fireball lit up the evening skies over vast portions of the eastern United States and parts of Canada as it entered the earth’s atmosphere and promptly burned up. According to data collected by the American Meteor Society, more than 200 observers on the ground in 11 US states and Ontario reported the dazzling display.
