Imagine strolling through the streets of Lisbon when suddenly the night sky bursts into a brilliant shade of green and blue! 🌌 That's exactly what happened late Saturday as a dazzling comet fragment zoomed over parts of Spain and Portugal, leaving residents and skywatchers in awe.
The European Space Agency (ESA) captured the stunning event on their \"fireball camera,\" spotting the radiant streak near the western Spanish city of Caceres, close to the Portuguese border. Initially dubbed a meteor, the ESA later clarified it was likely a small piece of a comet blazing through the atmosphere at a whopping 45 kilometers per second before fizzling out over the Atlantic Ocean. 🌊
Videos of the celestial spectacle quickly went viral across social media in both countries. From Porto's skies glowing bright for a few magical seconds to a comet fragment making a surprise appearance at a concert in Barcelos, it felt like something straight out of a sci-fi movie! 🎥
\"It almost looked like daylight… we all looked back and saw it,\" shared 31-year-old Lisbon resident Bernardo Taborda. \"It felt like a movie; we all looked at each other, and we were stunned. It was amazing.\"
The Spanish Calar Alto Observatory confirmed the cometary origin, with Andalusia's Institute of Astrophysics diving into a preliminary analysis. Meanwhile, emergency services were buzzing with reports from excited (and maybe a little startled) locals witnessing the rare event.
While the ESA mentioned that the chances of finding any meteorites are slim, the memories and videos captured will surely keep this cosmic moment alive for years to come. 🌠✨
Reference(s):
Comet fragment lights up sky over Spain and Portugal 'like a movie'
cgtn.com
