Stargazers in Spain and Portugal were stunned1 on Saturday night as a glowing fireball shot overhead and turned the night sky a greenish-blue.
A number of excited witnesses of the event uploaded stunning2 footage on social media, and now the European Space Agency has provided details on the flying object and its journey.
The ESA said: "It appears that this object was a small piece of a comet.
"We estimate that it flew over Spain and Portugal travelling at ~45 km/s before burning up over the Atlantic Ocean at an altitude of ~60 km. The likelihood of any meteorites3 being found is very low."
The ESA previously4 said its Planetary Defence Office was analysing the size and trajectory5 of the object to assess the chance that any material made it to the surface.
It added that the meteor, caught on camera at around 10:45pm, was "not tracked or reported prior6 to impact".
收听单词发音 |
1
stunned [stʌnd]
第8级 |
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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2
stunning [ˈstʌnɪŋ]
第10级 |
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| adj.极好的；使人晕倒的 | |
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3
meteorites ['mi:tɪəraɪts]
第9级 |
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| n.陨星( meteorite的名词复数 ) | |
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4
previously ['pri:vɪəslɪ]
第8级 |
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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5
trajectory [trəˈdʒektəri]
第12级 |
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| n.弹道，轨道 | |
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