Last Saturday in Europe there was an event that was quite out of the ordinary, since a supposed meteorite crossed the peninsula iberianspecifically it was seen more notably in countries such as Spain and also Portugal, and a video where you can witness the event has gone viral on social networks. And now that the information has been distributed throughout the world, they have already managed to deny that it is a star of such magnitude, given that signs of the complete opposite are represented.
According to the information that has been released The European Space Agency (ESA), it is not a meteorite that passed through the skies, but a small fragment of a comet, and a study was carried out in which they analyzed the size of the object, as well as the possible speed at which it was traveling, that is what sum that in the end it did not impact the earth. It passed over Spain and Portugal at a speed of 45 km/s and then disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean at an altitude of 60 kilometers.
Here you can see it:
☄️😍 ESA’s fireball camera in Cáceres, Spain, spotted this stunning meteor last night!
Our Planetary Defense Office are currently analyzing the size and trajectory of the object to assess the chance that any material made it to the surface.
Credit: ESA/PDO/AMS82 – AllSky7 pic.twitter.com/gSU4unncQW
— ESA Operations (@esaoperations) May 19, 2024
Many users who were able to see this star during the night claimed that it was a meteorite, but the THAT has assured that this has been far from reality, since the latter has very different characteristics from those of the already confirmed comet. It is also established that for it to have this name, it would have to collide directly with the Earth’s surface, since similar stars simply disintegrate due to the speed at which they travel.
Here is the description of the comet:
A comet in the context of space and astronomy is a small celestial body composed mainly of ice, dust and gases that orbits the Sun. Comets are remnants of the formation of the solar system and come mainly from two regions: the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud.
It is a fascinating celestial object composed of ice and dust that, as it approaches the Sun, develops a bright atmosphere and one or two tails that always point away from the Sun. These objects provide valuable information about the early days of the solar system.
For now, the THAT will continue analyzing the video to obtain more information about this phenomenon.
Via: THAT
Author’s note: I wish a comet would pass through Mexico, it’s rare for that kind of thing to happen on this side of the world. But the hope that it will happen is still present.
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