3 hours Ago
Numerous people throughout Europe reported seeing the meteor near dusk; police in the Netherlands received multiple calls from individuals trying to determine what they had just seen. How observers viewed this event varied according to their location. Many people reported seeing some sort of rocket; this may be due to conflicting tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Many others believed they were seeing a comet. There were also reports to the police in Lelystad of a plane crash due to the explosion,/firing light and sound created while the meteor fell; police throughout the Netherlands received reports about this fireball from concerned citizens.
Meteor Scientists Explain the Event
Joost Hartman from the Meteor Working Group of the Netherlands and Rob van den Berg from the International Space Station stated, "Based on the information we have at this time, the object was most likely a meteor and would have been made from either material similar to that of a skippy ball, a brick or a soccer ball".
Videos of the fireball and leading to what appears to be some form of explosion have circulated on various social media channels. Experts defined the occurrence of meteors as the entry of space debris into the jurisdiction of the Earth, typically at high velocities. "We see dozens of 'normal' shooting stars each night", according to Hartman ", and you can see them the same way with enough visibility; they typically light up and go out after several seconds." He also adds that objects larger than meteorites, typically the size of either a brick, a skippy ball or a soccer ball, can explode before they reach the surface of the Earth due to the pressures and/or heat.
Van den Berg also states that when a meteor lands on the Earth's surface, it will be identified by the materials in it. He further states that no one will truly know if it is a meteor until it is recovered - "whether the object was a natural and/or man-made meteor, both objects leave the same light trail during flight as they reach the surface of the Earth".
Meteor Fragments Cause Damage in Germany
Reports from German authorities confirmed that several residential properties in the State of Rhineland-Palatinate were damaged due to falling debris from the meteor. There were numerous reports of damage in the Hunsrück, Eifel Mountain and Koblenz regions. No reports of damage or injuries were reported in the Netherlands or Belgium, given the nature and amount of falling debris in Germany.
