Bright fireball explodes over Puerto Rico
A brilliant fireball exploded over the night sky in Puerto Rico around 07:45 UTC (03:45 LT) on Saturday, October 17, 2020. The trajectory suggests that it moved over the Mona channel towards Desecheo, according to the Society of Astronomy of the Caribbean (SAC).
"It was a space rock probably several feet in diameter disintegrating through the atmosphere," said SAC vice president Eddie Irizarry, noting that the fireball left a trail of smoke over the course of 30 minutes.
"At first it looked blue-green, and then somewhat orange, which suggests that the composition of the space rock was possibly magnesium and sodium," he described.
"The images captured by one of our cameras looking at the sky to the opposite side (East), show that the meteor illuminated the entire sky for a few moments, and turned the night [into day]," SAC added.
The trajectory indicates that it moved over the Mona channel towards Desecheo, north of the country.
After analyzing the area of the sky where the fireball streaked, Irizarry said it is not part of the Taurid meteor shower.
The American Meteor Society received one report about the event from a witness in Salinas.
Featured image credit: SAC
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