Witnesses have reported seeing a bright fireball meteor over much of the Arkhangelsk Oblast of northern Russia on the evening of Sunday 8 January 2016. The fireball was visible through dense cloud which was covering the region at the time, and is thought to have been caused by a large meteorite burning up in the upper atmosphere. It is not thought that any material from this object has reached the ground.
Fireball meteor seen through thick cloud over Arkhangelsk Oblast on 8 January 2016. Pravda.
A fireball
is defined
as a meteor
(shooting star) brighter than the
planet Venus. These 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.
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