Witnesses across northwestern Europe reported seeing a bright fireball meteor (a shooting star brighter than Venus) on Sunday 16 June 2018, according to the International Meteor Organization. The majority of the sightings occurred over Belgium, but the object was also seen from France, Germany, the Netherlands, England, Luxembourg and Switzerland, moving from southeast to northwest, and ending its journey somewhere in the area around the city of Liège.
The 16 June 2018 fireball meteor observed from Durlach in Germany. Gernot Meiser/TWAN.
Fireball meteors are typically caused by pieces of rock burning up in
the atmosphere, but can be the result of man-made space-junk burning up
on re-entry. Objects
of this size probably enter the Earth's atmosphere several times a
year, though unless they do so over populated areas they are unlikely to
be noticed. They are officially described as fireballs if they produce a
light brighter than the planet Venus. The brightness of a meteor is caused by friction with
the Earth's atmosphere, which is typically far greater than that caused
by simple falling, due to the initial trajectory of the object. Such
objects typically eventually explode in an airburst called by the
friction, causing them to vanish as an luminous object. However this is
not the end of the story as such explosions result in the production of a
number of smaller objects, which fall to the ground under the influence
of gravity (which does not cause the luminescence associated with
friction-induced heating).
Map
showing areas where sightings of the meteor were reported, and the
route of the object (blue arrow). American Meteor Society.
These 'dark objects' do not continue along the path
of the original bolide, but neither do they fall directly to the ground,
but rather follow a course determined by the atmospheric currents
(winds) through which the objects pass. Scientists are able to calculate potential trajectories for hypothetical dark
objects derived from meteors using data from weather monitoring services.
See also...
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