A light phenomenon was recorded crossing the Sergipe sky on the night of Thursday, 18. The meteor, as it is called, could be seen in the sky in the Sergipe capital and in the cities of São Cristóvão and Monte Alegre de Sergipe.
Meteor is a common phenomenon that happens when fragments of comets or asteroids cross the Earth’s orbit. These fragments before entering here on Earth are called meteoroids. But when they enter, they suffer friction and emit visible light, being called a meteor. If these objects touch the ground, they are called meteorites.
According to the astronomer and director of the Brazilian Meteorological Observation Network (Bramon), Marcelo Zurita, asteroids, meteors and comets orbit the Sun at a very high speed, between 40,000 and 266,000 kilometers per hour.
“When they reach Earth’s atmosphere at this speed, even fragments as small as a grain of sand are capable of instantly heating atmospheric gases, generating a luminous phenomenon called a meteor. So the meteor is just the luminous phenomenon, nothing more. Meteor is not solid, it is neither liquid nor gas, it is just light. Popularly, the meteor is also called a shooting star”, explains the astronomer.
Generally speaking, astronomers say, the larger the object, the brighter the meteor. And when its luminosity surpasses Venus’s glow, the meteor is commonly called a fireball or fireball. Sometimes, also depending on the speed and angle of entry, the meteoroid or asteroid is big enough to reach the densest layers of the atmosphere. In these cases, in addition to forming a more spectacular fireball, the meteor usually ends up with an explosive event. This type of meteor is also called a bolide.
The phenomenon was also registered in two more northeastern states, Bahia and Pernambuco.
By Luana Maria and Verlane Estácio with information from Agência Brasil
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