The moment a meteorite blasted through the Earth’s atmosphere and created an enormous fireball that lit up the skies over the Italian island of Sardinia has been captured in awe-inspiring dashcam footage.
The stunning moment was caught by a driver who was traveling on a road near Torre Grande on the Mediterranean island on Friday.
The flaming space rock can be seen expanding rapidly after it bursts into Earth’s atmosphere, lighting up the entire countryside as it blazes across the night sky.
The spectacular show was witnessed in numerous coastal areas along the Mediterranean. The Puig Des Molins Observatory in Ibiza captured it from a different angle while the Catalan Civil Protection agency reported receiving more than 55 calls about the fireball.
Gracias a @RedSpmn por su ayuda para darle forma a nuestra estación de vídeo detección de bólidos, a Albert por el aviso, y a todos los que forman parte del grupo de bólidos de @IbizaAstronomia AAE, porque el proyecto ya es una realidad y está dando sus frutos. #bólido #meteoro pic.twitter.com/AXRkV4zewx
— AAE (@IbizaAstronomia) August 17, 2019
A meteorite is a fragment of rock from outer space that withstands the fiery passage through the atmosphere of a planet to crash-land on its surface.
Main image: © Ruptly