Mystery fireball spotted above Moscow – what was it?

This is the moment a bright fireball lit up the night sky above a city before it burned up and disappeared into the atmosphere.

The rare astronomical phenomenon was observed over Moscow, Russia, at approximately 10:20 p.m. local time yesterday evening.

Dashcam footage and social media videos captured the luminous streak cutting across the sky before the glowing object broke apart.

Residents reported that the fireball moved quickly and silently before disappearing.

Experts said the bright flash was most likely caused by a bolide – a small meteor that completely disintegrates in the dense layers of the atmosphere.

Some eyewitnesses suggested it could have been a comet fragment or a piece of space debris.

Astronomers noted that the Taurid meteor shower is currently at its most active period, though the exact nature of the object has not yet been confirmed.

According to NASA data, around 100 tonnes of cosmic dust and small debris enter Earth’s atmosphere every day, most of which burn away completely at altitudes between 80 and 120 kilometres.

A similar event was recorded on 27th October, when another unidentified object with a greenish trail flew over Moscow and the Moscow region.

Footage shared by local media showed the glowing green object with a long, bright tail racing across the sky before disappearing from view.

Others had a more likely explanation for the mystery object – tests of Vladimir Putin’s Burevestnik nuclear-power cruise missiles.

The 9M730 Burevestnik is a nuclear-powered cruise missile being developed by Russia for its Armed Forces, which was being tested last week.

However, experts later said that the light was not a meteor or a missile but a fragment of space debris burning up in the atmosphere.

Sergey Bogachev, head of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said these ‘fireballs’ can be observed quite regularly in the night sky by those who know where to look.

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