28/ 11/ 2013
ANA-MPA -- A small meteor fragment hit the earth's atmosphere over the Ionian Sea in northwest Greece on Wednesday night, blazing across the sky as it burned up and alarming the people on the islands of Cephalonia and Zakynthos where the phenomenon was most visible, as well as in the western cities of Ioannina and Patras. No injuries or damage were reported.
People
who witnessed the meteor fall into the sea reported a bright light
across the sky and a loud thundering sound at approximately 21:30 on
Wednesday night.
Academy
of Athens Astronomy Research Center Director Panos Patsis told ANA-MPA
that “rocks fall from the sky all the time”, noting that such phenomena
are not unusual and most likely it was a small meteor or a fragment of a
comet with a diameter of less than a meter. He said that most of the
time they go unnoticed because they end up in the sea or in remote
unpopulated areas on the Earth.
Eugenides
Foundation Planetarium Director Dionissis Simopoulos noted that more
than 100 tons of meteors fall on the earth's surface everyday. He said
that the meteor piece that fell last night couldn't be larger than a
human head in size and probably weighed approximately two-and-a-half
kilos.
Both
ruled out the likelihood that it was a fragment of ISON, the so-called
comet of the century, which is expected to graze the surface of the Sun
on Thursday night. They also said that there is a small likelihood it
was a leftover from the Leonid Meteor Shower, as the phenomenon had
culminated earlier in the month.
(file photo)
(file photo)
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