A roaring meteor illuminates Norway; some may have landed near Oslo

OSLO, July 25 (Reuters) – “Unusually heavy weather” briefly illuminated southern Norway on Sunday, creating a spectacular light and sound show as it rumbled across the sky, and some of it may have touched down on Earth , perhaps not far from the capital, Oslo, according to experts.

There were no immediate reports of injury or damage.

Sighting reports started arriving around 1 a.m., with the phenomenon seen as far north as Trondheim.

A web camera in Holmestrand, south of Oslo, captured a fireball falling from the sky and bursting into a bright flash illuminating a marina.

On Sunday, the Norwegian Meteor Network was analyzing video footage and other data in an attempt to determine the origin and destination of the meteor.

Preliminary data suggests that a meteorite may have struck Earth in a large forested area, called Finnemarka, just 60 km (40 miles) west of the capital, Oslo, the network said.

“It was crazy,” Morten Bilet of the network, who saw and heard the meteor, told Reuters.

As of Sunday afternoon, no debris had been found and given the “demanding” location it could take “about 10 years” to search for possible meteorites, Bilet said.

The meteor traveled at 15-20 km per second and illuminated the night sky for about five to six seconds, Bilet said. The summer sky was dark, the days started to get shorter from the end of June.

Some eyewitnesses also said they felt a stronger wind, with the event also causing a pressure wave, Bilet said.

“What we had last night was a large boulder probably traveling between Mars and Jupiter, which is our asteroid belt. And when that hisses, it creates a rumbling, light and great excitement among us (experts) and maybe some fear among others, ”Bilet said.

There have been no reports of any damage or particularly frightened people, Bilet said, adding that for those closest to him it was likely a “frightening” event.

A meteor that exploded over central Russia near the city of Chelyabinsk in 2013 rained fireballs over a large area and caused a shock wave that shattered windows, damaged buildings and injured 1,200 people.

Reporting by Nora Buli Editing by Nick Macfie and Frances Kerry

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