Japan's night sky was in for a bright surprise on Sunday when a flaming meteor plunged from the sky. The incident was captured on multiple cameras across the area and shows how the meteor lit up the night sky of Japan's Nagoya region.
A footage shared by NHK World News shows how the flaming meteor falling from above burns brightly for a slight moment like a loud lightning. The meteor burned strongly as it swiftly descended through the Earth's atmosphere on Sunday.The footage was shared by many people in western Japan on social media seeing the rare sight, which lasted for a few seconds.
DailyMail reports that according to local media, the fireball is believed to be a bolide, a blazing meteor that explodes in the atmosphere. Bolide is a unique meteor which transforms in a bright terminal flash, often with visible fragmentation.
According to NHK public television, its cameras in the central prefectures of Aichi, Mie and elsewhere captured the spectacular incident in the southern sky.
People across wide areas of Japan were treated to a spectacular light show in the early hours of Sunday, thanks to what is believed to be a meteor. pic.twitter.com/r0HfI082SK— NHK WORLD News (@NHKWORLD_News) November 30, 2020
The Asahi newspaper reported that a camera at Nagoya port captured the meteor as bright as a full moon as it approached the Earth.According to some experts, the small fragments of the meteorite might have reached the ground after the explosion.
One Twitter user wrote,"Woah apparently there was a giant meteor that caused a big bright flash in the sky in Japan last night. and i'm wondering which sad and romantic anime plot this is from(sic).”
woah apparently there was a giant meteor that caused a big bright flash in the sky in Japan last nightand i'm wondering which sad and romantic anime plot this is from— Lan Cabbaji ancient himbo collector (@Baalderdash) November 30, 2020
So a massive meteor in Japan and an unknown thing coming towards earth? Aliens really said fuck 2020 huh— em (@dxnedehaann) December 1, 2020
A similarly bright meteor was spotted over Tokyo skies in July this year and its fragments were found in neighbouring Chiba prefecture.
Meteors are defined as rocks and ice ejected from comets as they move in their orbits around the sun. As a meteoroid enters the Earth’s upper atmosphere, it heats up due to intense friction. The heat causes the gases around the meteoroid to glow up and a meteor appears to be burning.