The fall of the meteorite was observed over Puerto Rico

The fall of the meteorite was observed over Puerto Rico
The fall of the meteorite was observed over Puerto Rico
Anonim

A large meteor was visible from almost all of Puerto Rico, according to the Caribbean Astronomical Society (SAC).

“Although most meteors are visible for only a few seconds, this event was significant because the images we were able to capture showed that it was visible for 27 seconds, which is almost half a minute,” said Eddie Irizarri, vice president of SAC.

“It looked bigger and bigger, it didn't look like an ordinary meteor,” said Idali Correa, who watched the spectacular spectacle from the municipality of Guayinilla.

In his estimation, it was a block with a diameter of 2 to 5 meters, the trajectory of which shows that it began to disintegrate at an altitude of 70 miles (110 kilometers) above the northwestern part of Puerto Rico, near Isabela Island, and was moving eastward towards the small island of Culebra.

“Several cameras that we have in different parts of the island show that it became visible at 4.55 from 35 seconds and reached a climax at 4.56 from 2 seconds. SAC President.

Representatives of the scientific organization explained that the duration of the meteor was explained by the fact that it was larger than those caused by ordinary meteors, since it entered the atmosphere at a not very large angle, that is, almost from the side, as a result of which the decay occurred over most of the sky.

SAC's Alex Guadalupe was able to observe it from the metropolitan area and was surprised not only by its apparent size and expansive tail, but also by the fact that it showed a turquoise green color, which, according to SAC, suggests that the stone contained magnesium and copper.

The SAC director explained that, despite the long duration of the meteor, it was not space debris, but a natural meteor, that is, a space rock that decays in the atmosphere.

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