The last Brazilian nights were marked by “cosmic events”: meteors crossed the sky over Alagoas, Sergipe and Rio Grande do Sul last Tuesday (5th) and Wednesday (6th). Recordings in the northeast of Brazil were made around 18:00 using the cameras of the Clima Ao Vivo portal, and filming in the south took place at 20:47. Despite the “frightening” of some, the passage of meteors through the sky is a common occurrence and does not pose a danger to the Earth.

At the end of 2021, at least two “visits” took place, one in October in Cuiaba and another in November in more than ten municipalities in the northeast region. And already in 2022, also in the RS, a celestial body exploded twice in the sky of the state, a rare occurrence.

The Porto Alegre meteor seen on Wednesday was dubbed a “fireball” – the name given to those that surpass the luminosity of Venus in the sky – or simply a “fireball”, and its intensity was due to its size.

“When they reach the Earth’s atmosphere at this speed, even grain-sized fragments are able to instantly heat atmospheric gases, creating a luminous phenomenon called a meteor,” explained Marcelo, astronomer and director of the Brazilian Meteor Observation Network. Zurita, according to CNN Brasil. “A meteor is just a phenomenon, nothing more. A meteor is not solid, liquid or gaseous, it is just light. People also call it a shooting star.

The one in the northeast did not have the same intensity, but it could be seen in at least four cities: Maceio (AL), Aracaju (SE), Estancia (SE) and Gracho Cardoso (SE).

Passages are common, and the planet even has a meteor “calendar”.

The speed with which asteroids and comets revolve around the Sun is very high and can reach 266,000 kilometers per hour. Some make such long journeys that they can be seen only once in a lifetime. The most famous example is comet Hale-Bopp, which takes about 2,533 years to complete one revolution in the solar system. It passed through the Earth from 1996 to 1997 and is expected to return in 4380 with possible variations.

Another one that will visit us again, but in much less time, is Halley’s Comet, one of the oldest meteors discovered by mankind, which will return in 2061. Its last flight was in 1986, and the orbital period is 75 years. This is the only short-period comet that has appeared in the sky twice in one generation of people.

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Source: G1