Chile: Huge meteor brightens up night sky, leaves netizens mesmerised

A meteor streaking through the night sky in Chile’s capital Santiago was caught on camera. Meanwhile, scholars from Concepcion University confirmed that the phenomenon, which was recorded on July 7, was a small body of rock that burned up upon entering the Earth's atmosphere. The video emerged on social media and has created a buzz on the internet.

As per Brazilian media outlet TNH1, the inhabitants of the city heard the sound of the meteor crossing the atmosphere as if it were a burst of thunder. The meteor crossed the sky and opened a huge flashlight in the city of Santiago.

Citing authorities, local media outlets reported that the meteor disintegrated into several parts before disappearing in the Andes region. The video emerged on YouTube under the account 'UFOvni2012', a description read, "Hello, community ... Leave me your comments, do not forget to share., do not forget to subscribe to our channel, and activate the notification bell so that you are the first to see our content, Greetings community."

Meteor sighting in Chile’s capital Santiago

Separately, astronomer Juan Carlos Beamin, from the Chilean Astronomy Foundation, informed that the meteor crossing Santiago is called “T12.cl”. Beamin explained that a flash lit up because, upon entering the atmosphere even a “stone, or a small rock, due to friction with the air, burns and shines”. “We are talking about speeds of 10,000 kilometers per hour,” he added. 

The video has grabbed attention on the internet and amassed views from many. The video has prompted several views, "Looks more like some type of transportation object, it always makes that hard stop after entering the atmosphere, that object is not coming through the firmament or they have technology that would allow them to go through", a user wrote. Another user wrote, "Looks like the new Zealand one but in the dark... No surprise."

Image: Unsplash