Giant Green Meteor Lights up the Night Sky in Turkey

Jeremy Gray

A massive, bright green fireball was caught on camera as it streaked across the night sky in Turkey.

In the video above published by The Telegraph, two clips show the incredible sight. The first video comes from X (Twitter) user @onurkacmaz, while the dash cam of X user @habip75 captured the second clip.

In both cases, the luminance of the meteor brightens the entire scene. The second clip shows the intensity of the meteor as it blazes through the atmosphere.

As Space.com explains, a fireball like the one seen over Turkey is an exceptionally bright meteor. An infographic from the American Meteor Society says that a fireball is a meteor that is brighter than the planet Venus, which means that it can be visible even during the day.

As seen on The Free Press Journal, there are more videos on X of the meteor, including the one below from @HavaForum.

Another angle comes from X user @CAM1nc.

The green light seen in the meteor over Turkey results from the meteoroid’s chemical composition, which likely contains nickel and magnesium. Other possible colors include orange-yellow (sodium), yellow (iron), violet (calcium), and red (atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen). Nickel and iron are prevalent metals in meteors.

Another huge green explosive meteor was seen earlier this year in Australia. Perhaps the most famous green meteor image was captured by photographer Prasenjeet Yadav in 2015.

An especially bright and colorful fireball lit up the night sky over China in 2019. The meteor started with a blue appearance before lighting up in a huge orange explosion.

Some photographers have even been fortunate enough to capture a rare meteor explosion that leaves behind a puff of ionized gas.

Fireballs can enter the atmosphere between 25,000 and 160,000 miles per hour (40,000 to 257,000 kilometers per hour) and even deliver a loud sonic boom.

They can also cause significant damage if they explode. A major meteorite strike in Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013 created a massive blast that damaged buildings and injured more than 1,200 people.

Image credits: Featured image is comprised of screenshots from the video posted on X by @CAM1nc.

,
, , , ,
Related Articles
Photographer Captures Rare Meteor Explosion While He Slept
Photographer Snaps Meteor Leaving a ‘Z’ in the Sky
This Photo Shows the Rainbow Colors of a Geminid Meteor
Milky Way Time-Lapse Captures Rare Glimpse of a Meteor Exploding in the Atmosphere
Discussion