A one kilo meteor! This is the weight of this piece of rock before it enters the atmosphere, according to scientists from Vigie-ciel. This impressive object was spotted in the sky of France on Wednesday, October 9, 2019, which surprised many people.
From the south of France to Normandy via the capital and Alsace, almost everyone has had the opportunity to admire the asteroid. Four cameras from the Paris Observatory’s Fripon network were able to immortalize this moment.
A hundred Internet users have also posted messages on Twitter to share their “extra-long” evening.
“We estimate that it weighed 1.1 kg before it entered the atmosphere”, remarks François Colas, astronomer at the Paris Observatory. “It became bright when it was 75 km above sea level, and it was 35 km northwest of Montluçon”, he explains. Its speed is 16.2 kilometers per second.
The meteorite reached five grams at the time of its extinction. “The blue or green light that emanates from it is generated by the friction of the remnants of oxygen emissions which are excited by their entry into the air. It is not the fireball that makes this light”, adds the specialist.
On Wednesday evening, the region around Châteauroux benefited from this extremely rare event. Indeed, Vigie-ciel identifies about twenty phenomena of this magnitude per year.
