Green fireball captured on WA dashcam as meteor streaks across sky
The Seattle Times • • science
Key Points:
- A bright green fireball, caused by a meteor containing magnesium and nickel, was captured on a dashboard camera in southwestern Washington state near Portland at 6:06 a.m. Monday.
- Fireballs are exceptionally bright meteors visible up to 80 miles above Earth, and recent similar events include a 7-ton meteor in Ohio and a meteor breaking apart near Houston, both causing loud booms.
- The green color in such fireballs is due to magnesium vaporizing in the atmosphere, producing a bright blue-green light, making these events spectacular and widely visible.
- Experts note that while fireballs rarely reach the Earth's surface, determining their trajectory is possible with multiple sightings and videos, though recovered meteorites are often difficult to find.
- Increased use of dashboard and doorbell cameras has led to more frequent reports of meteors, with witnesses like Jason Jenkins expressing amazement at capturing such rare phenomena.
