The internet is awash with footage of a meteor that streaked across the night sky over Portugal and Spain, lighting up the sky like a blue-green fireball.
The meteor was confirmed by the European Space Agency (ESA), which captured the fireball with its cameras in Caceres, Spain, at 6:46 p.m. EDT (22:46 UTC) on Saturday (May 18). ESA confirmed that the fireball was a piece of a comet that blasted off over Spain and Portugal traveling at about 100,000 miles per hour, or about 65 times faster than the top speed of a Lockheed Martin F-16 jet fighter. The ESA added that the meteor likely burned up over the Atlantic Ocean at an altitude of about 38 miles (60 kilometers) above Earth.
Social media users took to X, Facebook and Reddit in their thousands to discuss the bright fireball and share stunning images and videos.
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ESA wrote on its X channel that “ESA’s Fireball Camera in Cáceres, Spain spotted this stunning meteor last night! Our Planetary Defense Office is currently analyzing the size and trajectory of the object to assess the chance that any material has reached the surface.”
☄️😍 ESA’s Fireball Camera in Cáceres, Spain spotted this stunning meteor last night! Our Office of Planetary Defense is currently analyzing the size and trajectory of the object to assess the likelihood that any material has reached the surface. Credit: ESA/PDO/ AMS82 – AllSky7 pic.twitter.com/gSU4unncQWMay 19, 2024
X user Colin Rugg shared stunning footage of the meteor on his channel, writing: “This is crazy. Early reports claimed that blue lightning could be seen streaking across the night sky for hundreds of kilometers. It is currently unconfirmed if it hit the Earth’s surface, however, some reports say it may have fallen near the town of Castro Daire, other reports say it was closer to Pinheiro.
RIGHT: Meteor spotted in skies over Spain and Portugal. This is crazy. Early reports claimed that blue lightning could be seen streaking across the night sky for hundreds of kilometers. It is currently unconfirmed if it hit the Earth’s surface, however some… pic.twitter.com/PNMs2CDkW9May 19, 2024
News and media organization Nova Portugal also shared footage of the fireball taken from various locations.
“A meteor lit up Portugal’s skies sparkling blue last night to the surprise of residents who were outside during its passage. Thousands of Portuguese people shared their reactions to the event on social media.”
#Événement : Une météorite à illuminé le ciel du Portugal 🇵🇹 d’un bleu étincelant hier soir à la the surprise of the inhabitants trying to get out of the outer moment of the passing of the sons. Des miliers de portugais ont partages leurs réactions à l’événement sur les réseaux sociaux. pic.twitter.com/OE4HUCUr3FMay 19, 2024
“Shooting stars” like this are chunks of material that break off from larger bodies like asteroids, comets, the moon, or even other planets and enter Earth’s atmosphere at high speeds. The friction encountered by these fragments, called meteoroids (the name given to them when they are in space), causes them to glow brightly, turning into meteors for a few brief seconds as they pass through the atmosphere, creating a glowing trail.
About 90% to 95% of the interstellar matter that makes its way to Earth this way does not last long enough to reach the earth. If a meteoroid reaches the ground, it is usually in the form of dust or very small particles and is called a meteorite.
Just as different chemical elements are used to generate different colored fireworks, the color of this fireball indicates its chemical composition.
The bright blue/green flash of the fireball indicates the burning of magnesium. One type of meteorite known to contain magnesium is “pallasites,” which contain large olive-green crystals that are a form of magnesium-iron silicate called olivine.
Although the origin of pallasites is somewhat mysterious, scientists believe they may form when asteroids melt, with denser material sinking into their cores. The pallasites may come from the boundaries between the asteroid’s metallic core and its silicate, olivine-rich mantle.
If so, then pallasites could teach scientists a lot about how rocky planets like Earth formed in the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago.
Of course, this meteorite has not yet been confirmed as a pallasite, and scientists don’t know if any of it actually reached the ground, although the ESA says the possibility of that is slim at best.
There is no doubt that the eruption of this fireball over Portugal and Spain will keep meteorite hunters busy for at least the next few days as they search for fragments that could reach Earth.
