Comet Fragment Explodes Over Portugal in Dazzling Display
Lousã, Portugal – A brilliant meteor, confirmed to be a fragment of a comet, exploded high above central Portugal last night, creating a remarkable aerial event visible for 80 kilometers.the object entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a steep angle over the town of Lousã at 8:41 PM local time, culminating in a breakup approximately 43 kilometers above the surface.
The event was captured by a meteor detection station in Casas de Millán, Spain, part of the AllSky7 network operated by the European Space Agency’s Planetary Defense Office. This crucial observation allowed scientists to reconstruct the meteor’s trajectory.
Traveling at an estimated 81,000 kilometers per hour, the space rock encountered intense atmospheric friction, rapidly heating to thousands of degrees Celsius and producing a bright flare before disintegrating.
Analysis by specialists at the Southwestern Europe Meteor Network (SWEMN – IAA-CSIC) determined the object originated from a comet that happened to cross Earth’s orbital path at the same time as our planet.
Interestingly, another meteor was observed in the same region just an hour prior. however, researchers believe the two events were unrelated, as the objects approached from different directions. Furthermore,the trajectory of this bolide did not align with the current path of the Taurid meteor stream.
