Meteor Illuminates Night Sky in Norway; Here's How They Create Stunning Celestial Lights

A meteor in extraordinarily large size illuminated the night sky over Scandinavia early Sunday Morning before at lease some of it rumbled down close to Oslo, Nowary's Capital.

An extraordinarily large sized meteor was spotted near Oslo,Norway's Capital, illuminating the night sky over Scandinavia early Sunday Morning.

CNN reported that according to a spokesperson for the Norwegian Meteor networ, Steinar Midtskogen, the meteor momentarily lit up the sky like it was daytime just aftr 1 AM.

The fireball, which travelled at approximtely a little over 16 kilometers per second, was visible for at least five seconds following its apperance at the said local time, Sunday.

After a minute or a bit longer, there was a loud rumbling sound heard over a huge area, probably up to 100 kilometers far from the site the meteor was spotted straight above.

Some people close to the path of the meteor reported that they felt a shock wave, the official continued. The entrances, including the door was blown open, and blasts of wind had also been observed, said Midtskogen. There were no damages reported during the occurrence.

Meteor Fell in Lier

This same CNN report specified that according to experts, the meteor possibly fell roughly 15 miles outside Oslo which is not a new occurrence. The network said that it has recorded previous events as they constantly monitor the sky using many cameras.

Essentially, a meteor is a space rock burning brightly after it enters the atmosphere of Earth at high speed. If it survives its passage to the ground, it then becomes known as a meteorite.

In connection to the occurrence, the site had been verified by the Norwegian Seismic Array. NORSAR also confirmed that it had also recorded the airblast hitting the ground as a seismic event.

Now, this report specified, the search is on for parts of the meteor, as mentioned, also known as meteorites on the ground. Midtskogen explained they do not know yet for sure, the size of the meteor.

Additionally, the spokesperson told CNN that "it could be a few hundred-kilogram rock although only a tiny part of its body is expected to have reached the ground."

Witnessing the Occurrence

Vegard Rekaa, a Norwegian astronomer said in the said BBC News report via Envirolink, his wife was awake at the time of the occurrence. He said she was hearing "shaking in the air" before she heard an explosion which she assumed was an object heavy falling close to their house.

Furthermore, the astronomer also said a group of campers reported a major explosion just on top of their heads. Another person who witnessed the meteor illuminating Norway was a female camper who said she saw a fireball from a short distance but she thought it was just her friends playing a trick on her.

The recently-reported seismic occurrence was not surprisingly large, but Rekaa said it was "special" since a lot of people either saw and heard it.

Preliminary Analysis

The preliminary analysis suggests that the meteor entered earth's atmosphere at a speed of 15 kilometers per second or 9.3 miles per second. It then broken up into bright flashes ranging from 35 to 25 kilometers, or 22 to 15.5 miles above the ground.

In a report from Reuters via Yahoo! News, the network's Morten Bilet said what was witnessed that night was a huge rock that travelled possibly in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

He explained that the very fast movement produces an excitement that experts describe as a "rumble, light and great one" that excites others while causing panic to some.

A related report is shown on Outpost News's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Meteors in Science Times.