A Glowing Object Flies Over Tripoli.. Confusing Libyans

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After Libyans were preoccupied in recent hours with what they described as a strange luminous object flying over the capital, where loud noises were heard, the Libyan Center for Remote Sensing and Space Science confirmed that the burning object that illuminated the sky of the capital on Sunday night was a natural meteor resulting from a small celestial body entering the Earth's atmosphere at high speed.

It also pointed out that such phenomena disintegrate at high altitudes and do not pose a danger to public safety.

The director of the Media and Information Technology Office at the center, engineer Anas Al-Mashri, stated in a video statement that the center issued a statement on its official Facebook page after social media users circulated a clip showing a burning and luminous object moving across the sky of the capital, explaining that the phenomenon is a natural and common astronomical event known as meteors or fireballs.

The center also clarified that the phenomenon occurs when a meteoroid or comet debris enters the atmosphere, causing intense friction with air particles in the upper layers, which raises its temperature, ignites it, and causes it to glow, leaving behind a fiery tail or a luminous smoke trail that was clearly visible in the circulated clips.

He pointed out that similar scenes may sometimes result from the burning of space debris, such as remnants of defunct satellites or parts of rockets, during their return to the atmosphere.

In addition, Al-Mashri reassured citizens that such phenomena often occur at high altitudes and disintegrate and completely break down in the atmosphere before reaching the surface of the Earth or any parts of it, confirming that they will not pose any danger to public safety.

The object was seen in Tripoli, Misrata, and Zuwara, while residents reported a loud noise and a slight tremor following its appearance, and the center's statement did not mention this noise.

The fastest meteoroids move at about 42 kilometers per second, most of them the size of small pebbles, and they glow for a few seconds before burning up; the fireball meteor appears brighter than the planet Venus and represents about one in every thousand meteors, with the sonic boom often following the appearance of the fireball, just as thunder follows lightning, according to NASA.

The duration of appearance is one of the most notable differences, with exceptions, as some debris may enter at a steep angle, shortening its duration, while some natural meteors may last for dozens of seconds. Space debris often enters almost horizontally, taking minutes and breaking into pieces, according to the American Aerospace Corporation, which specializes in studying returning debris.