Jerusalem: The Israeli Astronomical Association (IAA) has reported a bolide explosion seen in daylight in the country’s sky.
The bolide, a particularly bright meteor, was seen flashing across the sky at 17:16 local time (14:16 GMT), according to reports, photos, and videos received at the IAA released on Saturday.
Igal Pat-El, a member of the International Astronomical Union, told Xinhua that according to the observed colours, it was a meteorite made of stone, probably tens of centimetre long at most, which completely disintegrated in the air and did not reach the ground.
“Meteors are observed every night, but seeing one from an inhabited place, in daylight, and over Israel is very rare,” he added as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.
Meteor is the scientific name for the popular term “falling star,” a flash of light that can usually be seen in the night sky when interplanetary material enters Earth’s atmosphere, ignites from the friction and leaves behind a bright trail.
–IANS