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A bright green meteor swept across the southern coast of Tasmania, Australia, and researchers caught the fireball on camera as it shattered over the ocean.
The meteor lit up the night sky on Wednesday (Nov 18) at 9:21 PM local Tasmanian time (5:21 AM EST and 1021 GMT). A live streaming camera on the Investigator research vessel, operated by the Australian National Science Agency, CSIRO, captured incredible views of the fireball as it descended from space and disintegrated above the Tasman Sea.
“What we saw when examining the live streaming footage stunned us; the size and brightness of the meteor was incredible,” John Hooper, CSIRO voyage manager aboard Investigator, he said in a statement. “The meteor crosses the sky directly in front of the ship and then breaks – it was great to watch the footage and we were very lucky to have captured everything on the ship’s live stream.”
Related: 2020 Perseid meteor shower brings celestial fireworks into the night sky (photos)
The live streaming camera on board the Investigator operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The meteor was captured when the ship was about 100 kilometers south of the Tasmanian coast, where it is stationed to map the Huon Marine Park seabed, conduct oceanographic studies and perform sea trials for a variety of marine equipment, according to CSIRO (which stands for “Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization”).
Meteors are pieces of space rock that enter the Earth’s atmosphere and often go unnoticed in unpopulated areas such as the Southern Ocean.
“Many meteors once were asteroids, traveling through space on its own trajectory. This changes as they pass close to Earth, where they can be affected by its gravitational pull, “Glen Nagle, a researcher with CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, said in the statement.” When they enter our atmosphere, they become meteors – and their entrance can be visually spectacular. “
Footage of the meteor crossing the night sky was captured in black and white, but observers said the bright flash of light appeared green to the naked eye. Although there have been reports of further sightings in the area, no other photos or videos of the meteor have been shared.
“Cameras are everywhere, in our pockets and around our cities, but they need to be aimed in the right place at the right time – RV Investigator was there and then,” Nagle said in the statement.
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