Spain and Portugal Witness Blue and Green Comet Fragment Explosion in Night Skies
According to experts, a dazzling display of blue, green, and white light illuminated the skies on Saturday night, caused by a fragment of an unidentified comet hurtling through space at approximately 100,000 miles per hour.
The internet buzzed with footage capturing a meteor streaking across the night skies over Portugal and Spain, resembling a vivid blue-green fireball.
The European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed the meteor’s presence, capturing it on cameras in Cáceres, Spain, at 6:46 p.m. EDT (22:46 UTC) on Saturday, May 18. ESA scientists verified that the fireball originated from a piece of a comet, traveling at a staggering speed of about 100,000 miles per hour, equivalent to approximately 65 times the top speed of a Lockheed Martin F-16 jet fighter. The ESA further noted that the meteor likely disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, burning at an altitude of approximately 38 miles (60 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface.
While rocky asteroids often produce luminous streaks as they disintegrate upon entering Earth’s atmosphere, this particular object was noteworthy for its exceptional speed, exceeding the typical velocity of asteroids. Additionally, experts observed an unusual trajectory, deviating from the expected path of nearby space rocks.
This deviation was due to the object’s identity—it was not an asteroid but rather a fragment of a comet, an icy celestial body possibly formed during the early stages of the solar system. The fragment met its demise in a fiery spectacle approximately 37 miles above the Atlantic Ocean. According to the European Space Agency, any remnants of the object are unlikely to reach the Earth’s surface.
