Viral Videos Spark Social Media Buzz
A luminous unidentified flying object streaked across the skies of Madeira and Porto Santo yesterday in the evening hours, captivating residents. Videos quickly flooded social media, with many asking themselves what the object could be.
Experts Identify the Object as a Meteor
The Madeira Astronomy Association confirmed it was a meteor - a celestial fragment that burned up in Earth’s atmosphere. Sandro Correia, from the association, explained that such events are common during meteor showers and produce a "fireball" effect when particles enter the atmosphere at high speed.
Despite the surprise expressed by many people, "it is a relatively common phenomenon," says Sandro Correia, from the board of the civil organization that most closely follows and studies celestial bodies in our archipelago. "The Earth, in its orbit around the Sun, intercepts the trail of these particles. Some of them, larger in size, when incinerated due to the friction as they enter our atmosphere at very high speeds, produce this ‘fireball’ phenomenon, which is very surprising," he explains.
Linked to the Geminids Meteor Shower
The sighting coincided with the annual Geminids meteor shower, which peaks between December 12 and 14. Correia reassured the public, noting that these phenomena occur regularly and are harmless.
The Geminids meteor shower, which peaks during mid-December each year, is considered to be one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers. The Geminids did not start out that way. The Geminids first began appearing in the mid-1800s. However, the first showers were not noteworthy with only 10 to 20 meteors seen per hour. Since that time, the Geminids have grown to become one of the major meteor showers of the year.
New Monitoring System Planned
To better observe meteors, the association plans to install an all-sky camera at the Pico do Areeiro observatory. This system will enable live sky monitoring and capture meteor activity. People should watch them and interpret them as a beautiful image of how the entire celestial mechanics and the force of gravity that governs us work, Correia said.
Source: Diário de NotÃcias da Madeira
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