Social media users across Thailand, and particularly Bangkok, woke up Monday morning to a video that showed a mysterious fireball lighting up the sky. The mysterious fireball dazzled the daytime sky over Bangkok, after which it exploded in dramatic fashion over the skies. People in Bangkok, which is not known to witness events of this nature, were confused and startled by the sudden appearance of the fireball, which is now thought to be a meteorite that burned up as it entered the earth’s atmosphere.
However, the sighting of the fireball sent social media users in the city into a tizzy. Within a few hours, a video showing the fireball in action was posted on YouTube. The video has since them been shared thousands of times. Social media users earlier thought of the fireball as falling space debris. Some others thought it was a crashing aircraft, while some others thought it was an UFO.
According to Thai newspaper, the Nation , the Thai Astronomical Society has confirmed that the mysterious fireball was just a meteor. The fireball was clearly visible outside city limits as well, the report added.
Prapee Wiraporn, President of the Thai Astronomical Society, issued a statement that confirmed that the fireball was just a bolide (or a meteor).
“The bolide this morning [yesterday] was extraordinary because it was very bright and clearly visible during the daytime. This is a natural, normal phenomenon because the small meteors fall to the earth every day but what we saw was similar to the one over Chelyabinsk, Russia, two years ago.”
Twitter user Nuthatai Chotechuang took a photo of the fireball and posted a tweet that read as follows.
“Extremely bright flashes of light, followed by a thunderous roar a minute later above Kanchanaburi sky. What is it?”
Officials also added that it was extremely unlikely for large parts of the meteor to hit the earth, as most of it would have burned up over the sky as it entered the earth’s atmosphere.
According to Saran Poshyachinda, deputy director of the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, the fireball was seen by people across a large area because it exploded at a very high altitude. The Thai government has, in the meantime, stepped in and requested citizens to stop spreading unverified rumors pertaining to the mysterious fireball.
[Image via YouTube]
