A flash of light, and then a bright, glowing, giant ball hurtling across the sky at dusk. Approximately 18:50 entries from excited observers begin to appear on social media. Speculations vary as to what exactly happened, from a meteorite flyby to space debris to a plane crash. One thing is certain: such a fiery spectacle has not been seen for a long time.
What damage did meteorite fragments cause in Germany?
Where has roof damage been reported?
What time was the meteorite spotted?
Was anyone injured as a result of this incident?
“Did anyone else see a bright fireball in the sky?”, “It was incredibly low!”, “Absolutely beautiful and a long trail of fire! Wow!”, “Did you also hear that loud bang?” — you could read on the Internet. Witnesses live in Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and North Rhine-Westphalia, among others.
Witnesses suspect a plane crash
The object was also spotted in southern Lower Saxony: police in Osnabruck received several alarm calls that evening. — Witnesses reported seeing a bright ball of fire in the sky, which then allegedly crashed into the ground between Georgsmarienhutte and Osnabruck, police said. The callers initially suspected a plane crash, but quickly ruled it out. According to initial reports, no one was injured.
In Stade, west of Hamburg, the fire brigade and police received a report at around 7 p.m. about the sighting of possible plane parts or debris from other celestial bodies that had hit a corn field. Despite a large-scale search operation, nothing of the kind was found.
The meteor disintegrated in the atmosphere.
It is now considered certain that the meteor entered the Earth's atmosphere with an explosion and a powerful impact, and then burned up significantly. The celestial body was reportedly quite large and visible in the sky for several seconds, leaving a clear trail. It also apparently caused damage: a police spokesman told the German Press Office that debris fell on at least one house in Koblenz's Huls district, damaging the roof. No one was injured.
The National Fire and Disaster Protection Authority of Rhineland-Palatinate said in a statement that “the meteorite flew over Rhineland-Palatinate and crashed with a loud bang over western Germany.” The fragments reached Earth around 7:15 p.m.
Meteor and meteorite – how to distinguish them?
A meteor, commonly called a shooting star, is a luminous phenomenon in the atmosphere. A meteorite is a stone object that may have reached Earth. Meteorite is a term used to describe a celestial body when it is still in space (meteorites are often fragments of much larger asteroids). A meteorite becomes a meteor once it enters the atmosphere and, unless it burns up completely, it eventually becomes a meteorite. The difference lies in the state of matter of the rock.
