The sky of part of the Australian state of Queensland was crossed this Saturday evening by a ball of fire which left behind it a green trail. It was a meteor propelled through the atmosphere before crashing into Earth, says The Canberra Times. Surprised, many Australians shared images of the impressive celestial phenomenon on social networks.
The latter occurred at night, at 9:22 a.m. It could be observed by the inhabitants of the zone going from the extreme west to the north of the State. The meteorite was thus visible in Cairns, where several videos were filmed. In addition to its dazzling luminous course, it marked the spirits by the sound of explosion which accompanied its appearance. If it looked like green fireworks, it’s because of a chemical phenomenon. A color due to the combustion of metals.
The object measured nearly 1 meter
“In this specific case, I would say that (it) is caused by the nickel which burns up in the atmosphere, explained Richard de Grijs, professor of astrophysics. But (the presence of) copper and iron is also a possibility because (these metals) also emit green when burning”. The specialist estimated the size of the celestial object at 1 m, a dimension “a little larger than what we are used to seeing”.