TOKYO - People in Japan's Kanto region reported seeing an exceptionally bright meteor on Monday morning.
People in Japan's Kanto region reported seeing an exceptionally bright meteor on Monday morning.
Fujii Daichi is a curator who specializes in astronomy at the Hiratsuka City Museum in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo. He says cameras installed at his home in Hiratsuka and neighboring Shizuoka Prefecture captured the phenomenon known as a fireball shortly before 7 a.m.
The footage shows a sphere of light emerging in the dawn sky and traveling for a few seconds before it vanishes.
Fujii says the light appears to have traveled toward Nagano Prefecture, north of Shizuoka, from above Kanagawa.
Eyewitnesses, mainly from the Kanto region, said on social media that they heard a blasting sound.
2024/01/15 06:55:35頃、川崎から北西へ向けた広角カメラに映った火球。大体西方向。X見たら騒いでいたので確認したら映っていた。これぞ流れ星！って感じです。#流星 #火球 pic.twitter.com/3JsmBtoLAy
— yama-san (@yama_san_desuyo) January 14, 2024
Fujii says he was surprised to see a bright fireball in the daylight hours. He says the strong brightness indicates the meteor have been dozens of centimeters in diameter, which is rare.
Fujii adds that reports of a shockwave also suggest that the meteor may have hit the ground.
Source: ANNnewsCH
