Massive fireball over Puerto Rico
An asteroid up to 5 m (16.4 feet) in diameter exploded over Puerto Rico at 03:28 UTC on July 28, 2022, creating a spectacular display seen across the entire island.
According to the Caribbean Astronomical Society (SAC), eyewitness reports confirm it was visible from the entire island.
Preliminary analysis of the event mentions the size of the object between 1 and 5 m (3.3 to 16.4 feet) in diameter. The colors this object was emitting suggest it was a space rock with sodium among other materials, similar to the one that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia in February 2013.1
“The detection of the meteor by the GOES-16 satellite suggests that the explosion when it hit the atmosphere occurred some 32 – 40 km (20 – 25 miles) north of the town of Quebradillas, over the waters of the Atlantic Ocean,” said Eddie Irizarry, scientific communicator for the SAC.
References:
1 Huge Meteor over Puerto Rico 7/27/2022 (SAC) – Kevin Zooropa
Featured image credit: SAC
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