sdv
13th March 2013, 15:12
Reports of a comet exploding over the skies of Cape Town round about midday SA time (GMT+2) Tuesday 12 March. No damage.
The meteor that streaked across the sky over Cape Town is no cause for alarm because of its size, an astronomer has said.
"It's probably something like a pebble-sized piece of rock," Dr Nicola Loaring, outreach astronomer at the South African Astronomical Observatory, told News24.
She confirmed that based on reports, the object could be classed as a meteor.
"I've had about six reports in and just from those eyewitnesses; their descriptions - they described a bright white light with a white tail that shot across the sky in a couple of seconds - to me, personally, that definitely sounds like a meteor
However, eyewitnesses are saying they saw an orange fireball.
Gosh! Are we travelling through some kind of debris field?
I will post pics and video if they become available.
There are a few people reporting that they are seeing strange lights over Cape Town at night. All rather weird!
The meteor that streaked across the sky over Cape Town is no cause for alarm because of its size, an astronomer has said.
"It's probably something like a pebble-sized piece of rock," Dr Nicola Loaring, outreach astronomer at the South African Astronomical Observatory, told News24.
She confirmed that based on reports, the object could be classed as a meteor.
"I've had about six reports in and just from those eyewitnesses; their descriptions - they described a bright white light with a white tail that shot across the sky in a couple of seconds - to me, personally, that definitely sounds like a meteor
However, eyewitnesses are saying they saw an orange fireball.
Gosh! Are we travelling through some kind of debris field?
I will post pics and video if they become available.
There are a few people reporting that they are seeing strange lights over Cape Town at night. All rather weird!