At any given time, meteors enter the Earth's atmosphere where they burn bright however, last Thursday, a fireball exploded in Cyprus located in the eastern Mediterranean. Locals were stunned by this mysterious explosion as the ground was shaken by its sheer force.
Local witnesses describe that a glowing bluish object was seen streaking the skies before it exploded over the Troodos mountains just before midnight. Numerous reports from witness accounts consisted of a loud explosion where the ground shook, according to police officials.
According to Ioannis Fakas of the Cyprus Astronomical Society, this exploding meteor had a 45 degree tilt, estimated to weigh just a few kilos, as a loud bang was heard as it zipped the skies of Cyprus. He believes that some remnants of the meteor crashed into the sea located north of Cyprus.
On the other hand, according to Cyprus Geological Department official, Iodanis Demetriades, there is no evidence that this meteor or object hit the ground, adding that this most likely exploded over the sky.
These types of sky events of meteors or fireballs that involve a loud sound or a sonic boom are baffling and even frightening to witnesses, scientists say that these types of impacts are more common than first thought. Some 30 meteorites crash into the surface of the Earth every year, where people rarely take notice since they crash into oceans.
NASA data also predicts that such potentially catastrophic events related to Near Earth objects such as space debris are a rare occurrence. Infrastructure damage from falling space debris are also rare around the world.
The chances of getting hit by a meteorite are even more slim, as the odds are one in 250,000, according to environmental sciences professor Stephen A. Nelson of Tulane University.