Meteor seen across Puerto Rico at approximately 8:02 PM Friday 7th May 2021
© La Sociedad de Astronomía del CaribeMeteor seen across Puerto Rico at approximately 8:02 PM Friday 7th May 2021
A bright meteor was spotted across the night skies of the Greater Antilles on Friday night. Those who spotted it say the brilliant meteor appeared as a "huge green ball with a long tail."

The meteor was visible from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba at approximately 8:02 PM Friday 7th May 2021.

According to the Caribbean Astronomy Society (SAC), "It was a space rock of metallic content friction with our atmosphere."


Most meteors of metallic contents have iron and nickel, and usually, the green color is due to the presence of nickel on the space rock.

Although it was visible looking northwest, the meteor trajectory was from the north of Puerto Rico descending westward, over the sea, SAC indicated.

The meteor appeared so brightly, the SAC said, "even in some areas with cloudiness, the fireball caused a great glow behind the clouds, while others with clearer skies managed to see directly the great spectacle that the meteor gave."

Meteor and meteorite strikes are more common than you might think. Dust-grain size meteoroids strike the Earth's atmosphere almost constantly, but they often go unnoticed. Meteoroids between a millimeter and a centimeter burn up in the atmosphere and appear to us as shooting stars.