
The tiny meteor appeared in various hues and colors from Massachusetts to Maine
On the second day of Christmas, a bright flash of light appeared in the night sky, traveling across New England. The breathtaking view left the stargazers speechless, as they started making suppositions on what the cosmic object might be. Soon afterwards, the astronomers confirmed it was a small meteor which appeared in the sky.
The meteor shone in different colors, depending on the location of its viewing
People spotted the meteor traveling from Massachusetts to Maine. Astronomers from Boston University explained it reached different speeds, increasing from 10 to 30 miles per second. This caused people from different locations to see it in other ways. Some viewed it as glowing in a green hue, while others saw how it flashed in blue colors.
The astronomers explained that the meteor must have already been burned up at the moment it entered the atmosphere of our planet. If this wouldn’t have happened, then the object must have blazed into a spectacular explosion.
Although it left a shiny trace on the sky, the object was extremely small. It wasn’t bigger than a golf ball, but it still fell alone. This means it wasn’t part of any shooting star display. In fact, no such event was predicted in this period. The last meteor shower occurred 10 days ago, while the next one is scheduled for January.
The lucky ones captured some images of the meteor
As mentioned above, the tiny meteor was extremely fast. This means it was relatively easy to spot it on the sky, but a lot harder to capture the moment in photos. The best images have been captured by an advanced webcam at the Mount Agamenticus Conservation Program in Maine, which also recorded other falling meteors or auroras.
There are several photos on social media as well, displaying the bright light as traveling quite far away from Earth. Astronomers revealed that, in fact, it didn’t travel further than 10 to 25 miles above the surface.
Meteor spotted over York County, Maine at 5:52 PM on the Mt. Agamenticus webcam. #meteor #fireball pic.twitter.com/JX4XmE6JBr
— Ryan Breton (@RyanBretonWX) December 26, 2017
Image Source: Flickr