NewsU.S. and the WorldScripps News

Actions

Rare meteor caught on camera lighting up sky at Australian airport

The night sky above Cairns, Australia lit up with a brilliant green hue as a meteor was captured on camera rocketing to Earth.
Rare meteor caught on camera lighting up sky at Australian airport
Posted at 8:44 PM, May 25, 2023
and last updated 2023-05-26 06:44:53-04

A brilliant display of an extraterrestrial object interacting with our planet Earth was caught on camera over the Northeastern city of Cairns in Australia. 

A camera at Cairns Airport captured a meteor emitting what appeared to be a greenish glow, lighting up the dark sky. 

Cairns airport said in a message on social media a day after it happened, they "witnessed some pretty incredible activity" in the night sky.

Other local residents captured the flash of light on security cameras as many people in town slept. 

Space.com called the object an exploding meteor. It lit up the night sky not long after dark at around 9:22 p.m. local time on May 20. 

As the object made its way through the atmosphere, a loud bang was heard from hundreds of miles away. 

The object was considered to be small in comparison to other meteors and extraterrestrial objects. It was estimated to be from 1.6 to 3.2 feet wide and may have been traveling faster than 93,000 miles per hour, according to a researcher at the Australian National University

Astronomers say fireball meteors often give off a bright green light, and will disintegrate in Earth's atmosphere. 

One Australian astrophysicist said friction built up as the meteor rocketed towards Earth's surface, until it caused the meteor to shatter with a huge flash, along with a sonic boom.


Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com