Home Exploration Blazing Meteorite Spotted in the Sky Above Russia’s Arkhangelsk

Blazing Meteorite Spotted in the Sky Above Russia’s Arkhangelsk

A large, unusually bright falling meteorite was seen in the Onezhsky district in Russia’s northern Arkhangelsk region on Saturday, a representative of the Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory told RIA Novosti on Monday.

“It was a bolide, which is known as a very bright meteor,” the observatory’s employee said.

Local media posted on social networks a video of the falling object. According to Russian astronomer, Valery Surdin, a falling bolide is quite a rare occurrence.

“Usually, bright bolides, namely, large stones, are sporadic, unpredictable objects. Such bright [meteorites] aren’t seen often, it’s a pretty rare occurrence,” Surdin said.

Meteorites are fragments of space objects, which fall in the atmosphere at a speed of ten kilometers per second and burn up, causing a bright flash — a “falling star.”

According to regional media, the meteor above Arkhangelsk burned up in the atmosphere at an altitude of about 50 kilometers above the earth’s surface. No damage has been reported.

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