SANTIAGO: A meteor has been caught on camera streaking through the night sky over Chile’s capital Santiago.
Academics at Concepción University said that the phenomenon was a small body of rock that burned up upon entering the Earth’s atmosphere. It was witnessed from different sites in Santiago on July 7.
The rock crossed the sky and opened a huge flashlight. Citing authorities, local media outlets reported that the meteor disintegrated into several parts before disappearing in the Andes region.
Meanwhile, a Brazilian media outlet reported that the inhabitants of the city heard the sound of the meteor crossing the atmosphere as if it were a burst of thunder.
Separately, astronomer Juan Carlos Beamin, from the Chilean Astronomy Foundation, informed that the meteor crossing Santiago is called “T12.cl.”.
Beamin explained that a flash lit up because, upon entering the atmosphere even a “stone, or a small rock, due to friction with the air, burns and shines”. “We are talking about speeds of 10,000 kilometres per hour,” he added.
