© Kevin P.
Fireballs
© YouTube/Lost In The Ozarks
© Spalding Allsky Camera Network S.
© Yaolei W.
Stock image
The event was recorded in the framework of the SMART project (University of Huelva), operated by the Southwestern Europe Meteor Network (SWEMN), from the meteor-observing stations located at La Hita (Toledo), and Sevilla.
© Germaine Muller
Canberra was treated to a spectacular meteor display late on Thursday, just after 10pm, with many capturing the spectacle on camera.
While it looked large, Australian National University astronomy professor Dr Brad Tucker said the meteor itself was relatively small.
"It was probably between 20 and 50 centimetres in size. It was a relatively small meteor, it just appears very bright," Dr Tucker said.
"The blue-green colour that everyone saw was because these meteors are mostly iron and nickel, and when it melts as it burns up in the atmosphere, it burns that colour.
© Stephanie Vetter (2018)
Starting on June 5 and running until July 18 of each year, Earth passes through a stream of meteoroids in space - bits of rock and ice left behind by a comet known as 2P/Encke as it travels around the Sun. As these bits of comet debris are swept up by the planet's atmosphere, they produce bright flashes of light across the sky. This is the Beta Taurid meteor shower, which reaches peak activity on June 28-29.
While Comet Encke is also responsible for the Southern and Northern Taurid meteor showers, which send streaks of light across the night skies in October and November, respectively, there's a catch to the June Beta Taurids.
Hardly anyone has seen a Beta Taurid meteor. Unlike most meteor showers, this one occurs during the day, because the meteoroids in this part of the stream are coming at Earth from the direction of the Sun.
© YouTube/Cassiopatias
A late night sight that definitely woke up countless residents!
Late last month, Australia's Adelaide experienced a spectacular and somewhat alarming sight as a fireball released a massive flare in the night sky before plummeting to Earth.
The meteor, captured on the Royal Adelaide Hospital's helipad camera, shined so bright that it made the sky appear to be in mid-sunrise at one point.
© YouTube/Caters Clips
The meteor, captured on the Royal Adelaide Hospital's helipad camera, shined so bright that it made the sky appear to be in mid-sunrise at one point.
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