Science

Stunning footage captures the moment a huge fireball lights up the sky above Costa Rica


Stunning footage captures the moment a meteor lights up the sky above Costa Rica before it smashes through roof and homeowner finds the warm space rock on the floor

  • A huge fireball appeared in the sky above Costa Rica on April 23 
  • It is claimed to be 4,560 million years old broke up on entry to Earth’ atmosphere
  • One piece was found by a homeowner after it smashed through her roof   

Incredible footage captures the moment a meteorite lights up the night sky above Costa Rica before breaking up in Earth’s atmosphere. 

Experts claim a fragment of the rock, which tore through a homeonwer’s roof in was a fragment of the meteorite and is an estimated 4,560 million years old.  

A study by the Central American School of Geology of the University of Costa Rica say that it is a chondritic stone meteorite made of silicon, iron and magnesium. 

Although the team said that further study is needed to confirm their findings, they claim the rock came from space.   

A study by the Central American School of Geology of the University of Costa Rica say that the rock (pictured) is a chondritic stone meteorite made of silicon, iron and magnesium

A study by the Central American School of Geology of the University of Costa Rica say that the rock (pictured) is a chondritic stone meteorite made of silicon, iron and magnesium

On April 23, 2019 at 9:09pm local time, residents reported a large ‘fireball’ zooming over them over San Carlos.

Others reported loud banging sounds and feeling rumblings as they sat in their homes. 

One woman claims that a rock tore through her roof in the back of her home in  Aguas Zarcas and says she found a ‘warm rock’ on the floor.

The rock weighed around 2.4 pounds (1,071 grams) and was analysed in the house where it fell, with the help of specialised equipment from the Petrography and Geochemistry Section of the School of Geology. 

According to a report in Meteor Shower Tonight, a Costa Rican website, a cosmochemist says he will analyse the chemical composition of the rock to determine where the rock comes from.

But he seems to be under the impression that it is in fact a meteor.

‘The lyrid meteor shower peaked on April 22-23, 2019. So it is not quite a coincidence,’ the person wrote. 

Several people near Poás and Turrialba captured bright flashes of light in the sky, ‘most probably from the disintegration and explosion’ of the meteor, he said. 

Central American School of Geology at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) announced that a rock that fell on April 23 in the canton of San Carlos, Alajuela, is a meteorite, which has been called Meteorito de Aguas Zarcas

Central American School of Geology at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) announced that a rock that fell on April 23 in the canton of San Carlos, Alajuela, is a meteorite, which has been called Meteorito de Aguas Zarcas

One woman claims that a rock tore through her roof in the back of her home in Aguas Zarcas and a 'warm rock' on the floor

One woman claims that a rock tore through her roof in the back of her home in Aguas Zarcas and a ‘warm rock’ on the floor

The rock weighed 1,071 grams and was analysed in the house where it fell, with the help of specialized equipment from the Petrography and Geochemistry Section of the School of Geology

 The rock weighed 1,071 grams and was analysed in the house where it fell, with the help of specialized equipment from the Petrography and Geochemistry Section of the School of Geology

According to a report in Meteor Shower Tonight, a Costa Rican website, a cosmochemist says he will analyse the chemical composition of the rock to determine where the rock comes from

According to a report in Meteor Shower Tonight, a Costa Rican website, a cosmochemist says he will analyse the chemical composition of the rock to determine where the rock comes from

Several people near Poás and Turrialba captured bright flashes of light in the sky, 'most probably from the disintegration and explosion' of the meteor

Several people near Poás and Turrialba captured bright flashes of light in the sky, ‘most probably from the disintegration and explosion’ of the meteor

On April 23, 2019 at 9:09pm, residents reported a large 'fireball' zooming over them across the sky over San Carlos. Others reported loud banging sounds and feeling rumblings as they sat in their homes

On April 23, 2019 at 9:09pm, residents reported a large ‘fireball’ zooming over them across the sky over San Carlos. Others reported loud banging sounds and feeling rumblings as they sat in their homes

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SPACE ROCKS?

An asteroid is a large chunk of rock left over from collisions or the early solar system. Most are located between Mars and Jupiter in the Main Belt.

A comet is a rock covered in ice, methane and other compounds. Their orbits take them much further out of the solar system.

A meteor is what astronomers call a flash of light in the atmosphere when debris burns up.

This debris itself is known as a meteoroid. Most are so small they are vapourised in the atmosphere.

If any of this meteoroid makes it to Earth, it is called a meteorite.

Meteors, meteoroids and meteorites normally originate from asteroids and comets.

For example, if Earth passes through the tail of a comet, much of the debris burns up in the atmosphere, forming a meteor shower.





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