A brand new video from an astronaut’s vantage level in house catures a vivid inexperienced burst over Earth as a meteor exploded within the evening sky.
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, commander of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission, shared a brand new time-lapse of photographs taken from the Worldwide Area Station because it handed over Cairo, Egypt. Whereas aiming to {photograph} the Milky Method’s Core, Dominick ended up capturing a vivid inexperienced fireball that exploded on Monday (Sept. 2) at 8:12 p.m. EDT (2012 GMT).
The outburst seen within the time-lapse was created by a meteor that entered Earth’s environment and burned up. Dominick shared the brand new view in a put up on X (formally Twitter) on Sept. 3.
“I confirmed this to a few buddies yesterday to see what they thought,” Dominick wrote in his put up. “They each thought it was a meteor exploding within the environment — a fairly vivid one referred to as a bolide.”
I confirmed this to a few buddies yesterday to see what they thought. They each thought it was a meteor exploding within the environment – a fairly vivid one referred to as a bolide. Timelapse is slowed down to at least one body per second so that you can see it streaking after which exploding. In the event you… pic.twitter.com/tn2KmWgnoESeptember 3, 2024
Dominick shared two variations of the timelapse. In his preliminary put up, the timelapse was slowed down to at least one body per second, providing a extra detailed view of the fleeting meteor because it streaked throughout the sky after which exploded. Within the feedback, Dominick shared a sooner model, during which the meteor seems as solely a really transient flash within the high proper of the body.
Given the distinctive brightness of the meteor, it’s thought of a bolide, which is a big meteor that explodes in Earth’s environment with sufficient pressure to create a sonic increase. This sort of meteor can final a number of seconds, and even minutes, and create a vivid glow throughout the sky that outshines the celebrities and moon.
“I believe it’s attention-grabbing to match the scale of the bolide blast to different objects in view just like the Mediterranean, Cairo, or lightning strikes,” Dominick commented.
The timelapse contains 20 particular person photos taken from within the house station’s Cupola module.
“Once I went to evaluate the pictures afterwards I discovered the bolide,” Dominick mentioned in his put up.
Dominick has been a prolific photographer throughout his keep aboard the ISS as a part of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission. The NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy check pilot has captured auroras, a number of meteors exploding above Earth and extra on digicam throughout his keep on the orbital lab.
