Fireballs dazzle two continents in one night

Tuesday late in the morning, Wednesday was a big night for combustible, fuel collisions, while several meteors burned over some of the largest cities in the United States and Europe.

We could have Lyrid meteor shower to thank for this show. Bonanza, the spring star, emerging from the northern hemisphere, became active Tuesday night and is known for its fireballs.

A fireball was spotted in the skies between Berlin, Amsterdam and Copenhagen just before midnight local time. Later, as midnight approached on the east coast of the United States, another meteor was seen burning as it rushed into our atmosphere. This fireball was spotted at 22:57. EDT and could be visualized from New England to the Carolinas.

The American Meteor Society has received dozens of reports pointing to the European fireball, which reportedly soared in Germany, as well as hundreds of reports about the eastern meteor that was flying overhead. Delaware at its strongest moment of disintegration.

Fireballs are actually a very common phenomenon that can occur thousands of times a day, but the vast majority are not very bright, or they are obscured by daylight or occur overhead. ocean and other unpopulated areas and remain invisible to the human eye. It is rarer that two exceptionally bright fireballs are consumed in large population centers the same night.

Most fireballs are actually much higher in the sky than they seem, usually well above 30 miles, which is why the same fireball has been seen for a dozen or so years. 39, US states Tuesday night.

There could be more to come this week. The Lyrid meteor shower is in the process of building its peak on Sunday night, with 10 to 20 shooting stars visible, though some may be swept by a nearly full moon.

Sometimes there can be an explosion of hyperactive meteor activity producing hundreds of visible trails per hour during a shower like the Lyrids. Although no blast is expected for this year, there is still a chance, and this early fireball activity is a reason to be optimistic.