WATCH: Impressive meteor blazes across night sky in Caribbean
When meteoroids survive Earth’s atmosphere (or that of another planet, like Mars) and burn up, the fireballs or “shooting stars” are called meteors.
An impressive meteor glowing an intense green streaked across the night sky over San Jose de Ocoa, Dominican Republic, on Jan. 25.
In a breathtaking celestial event that captivated thousands, a meteor streaked across the night sky, leaving spectators in awe from Puerto Rico to the Dominican Republic.
The dazzling sight, which occurred at 7:05 p.m. Saturday, quickly became a sensation on social media as eyewitnesses shared their exciting experiences. Among the myriad of posts, one by user @PhillyMadeRai stood out, capturing the meteor's dramatic descent over San Jose de Ocoa in the Dominican Republic.
"Just caught the craziest meteor EVER over San Jose de Ocoa, Dominican Republic. It lasted for so long that I had time to pull my phone out and record. It broke into pieces RIGHT above me and displayed colors of blue/green/purple as it broke into pieces," he posted along with incredible footage of the meteor.
“It was a space rock between 1 to 4 meters in diameter, and the sighting lasted several seconds so it could be appreciated by a large number of people,” said Eddie Irizarry, vice president of the Caribbean Society for Astronomy (SAC).
What's the difference between meteoroids, meteors and meteorites?
Meteoroids: An asteroid is a small, rocky celestial body that orbits the sun. A meteoroid is a small piece of an asteroid or comet. Meteoroids are usually the size of a pebble but can range in size from dust grains to small asteroids. Asteroids can range in size from pebbles to over 600 miles across. Most asteroids are made of rocks, but some have clays or metals, such as nickel and iron, NASA says.
Meteors: When meteoroids survive Earth’s atmosphere (or that of another planet, like Mars) and burn up, the fireballs or “shooting stars” are called meteors.
Meteorites When a meteoroid survives a trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it’s called a meteorite. Most meteorites found on Earth come from shattered asteroids, according to NASA.
"It's not very common for a meteor to be seen from more than one country, but it can happen when it's one of remarkable size," Irizarry emphasized, adding that the brilliant meteor showed an intense turquoise color, as well as an eye-catching orange tail.
The bright turquoise color indicates it was a metallic space rock, probably with magnesium, iron and nickel, the SAC said.
What a meteor is made out of is not the only factor that determines the color that it appears. The speed at which the meteor enters the Earth’s atmosphere can also affect the color.
The faster a meteor moves, the more intense the color may appear, according to the American Meteorological Society (AMS).
“Among fainter objects, it seems to be reported that slow meteors are red or orange, while fast meteors frequently have a blue color,” the AMS said.
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