The meteor breaks into several pieces before disappearing.
A meteor was caught on camera streaking across the night sky over Chile’s capital, Santiago. Scientists from the University of Concepción confirmed that the phenomenon, which was recorded on July 7, was a small rocky body that burned up when entering the Earth’s atmosphere, the BBC reported.
The meteor crossed the sky and opened a huge lantern in the city of Santiago. Citing authorities, local media reported that the meteor broke into several pieces before disappearing in the Andes region.
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Brazilian media outlet TNH1 reported that residents of the city heard the sound of the meteor crossing the atmosphere as if it were thunder. Separately, astronomer Juan Carlos Beamin of the Chilean Astronomical Foundation informed that the meteor crossing Santiago is called “T12.cl.”.
Mr. Beemin explained that lightning flashed because, upon entering the atmosphere, even “a stone or a small stone, due to friction with the air, burns and glows.” “We are talking about speeds of 10,000 kilometers per hour,” he added.
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Meanwhile, a meteor sighting in Chile came on the same day a burning meteor-like fireball flashed across the sky over Wellington, New Zealand. According to Reuters, witnesses reported hearing a loud boom and seeing lightning as the object passed.
Alan Gilmore, an astronomer at the University of Canterbury’s Mount John Observatory, said a meteor descending from the atmosphere at high speed over an urban area was a rare occurrence. He went on to describe the meteor and said: “It was very bright, so it must have been quite a large object.” Mr Gilmore also informed that the boom that people heard indicated that the meteorite had approached 60 km from Earth.
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