The blue-green light phenomenon prompted many to call 911 – or upload videos to social media.
A bright piece of comet was visible in the sky over parts of Spain and Portugal late Saturday, according to the European Space Agency ESA.
On Sunday morning, ESA shared a video on the messaging service X, which was filmed by one of the space agency’s surveillance cameras. According to the organization, the video recorded the flight of a meteor that was visible in the sky of the city of Caceres in western Spain, near the border with Portugal.
Later, ESA clarified that it was a “small piece of comet” and not a meteor. ESA estimates that it flew over Spain and Portugal at a tremendous speed of about 45 kilometers per second before burning up over the Atlantic. According to ESA, the probability of finding a meteorite is very low.
In both countries, the flight of the comet body was filmed in several cities, and numerous videos quickly spread on social media. The images show how the object flies at high speed in the night sky, lighting it up in bright blue and green tones.
Based on a preliminary analysis by the Spanish Calar Alto Astronomical Observatory and the Andalusian Institute of Astrophysics, the body would originally be a comet.
The flight of the comet fragment was filmed, among other things, during an outdoor concert in the Portuguese city of Barcelos. The song was also filmed over Porto, Portugal’s second largest city, when the song turned into a bright light phenomenon during its flight for a few seconds.
The light phenomenon caused confusion, and many contacted the emergency center to report what had happened.
A Lisbon native Bernardo Taborda31, told the news agency Reuters that he was walking in the city with friends when the sky suddenly turned bright green
– It looked almost like daylight. We all looked up and saw it. It felt like a movie. We all looked at each other and were amazed, Taborda said.
Source: Reuters