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SPACE

It wasn’t a meteorite! Space agency explains what viral green fireball was

Millions saw the video of the extremely bright light flying across the Spanish sky and the European Space Agency has been quick to classify it.

Watch: ‘Green meteorite’ spotted over Spain and Portugal

Over this past weekend, skywatchers in Spain and Portugal were treated to a spectacular sight: a bright fireball streaking across the night sky. Initially, the object was believed to be a meteorite, but after further analysis, scientists have reclassified it as a small comet.

The fireball, named SPMN180524F, was spotted late Saturday night and early Sunday morning. It was visible from regions across Spain, including Extremadura, Madrid, and Granada, and even reached parts of Portugal. Videos captured show the object’s fiery path.

While initially classified as a meteorite, a burning piece of rock from space, experts now believe it was a fragment of a comet. Comets are icy objects that originate in the far reaches of the solar system. When they approach the sun, their ice begins to sublimate, releasing gas and dust that forms a glowing tail.

In comparison, a meteorite is a piece of rock or metal from space that survives its passage through Earth’s atmosphere and impacts the ground. Meteorites originate from asteroids or comets but crucially have to survive until planetfall.

What happened to the comet?

According to ESA estimates, the comet flew over Spain and Portugal at 45,000 meters per second before burning up above the Atlantic Ocean.