In the early hours of yesterday, a fireball streaked across the heavens above Spain, visible over most of the peninsula.

The phenomena was picked up by the Astronomic Complex La Hita in Toledo at 03.43h. Likewise, it was picked up by observatories also belonging to the SMART project in Sevilla and Huelva.

Astrophysicist José María Madiedo at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC) explained that the lump of space rock entered the Earth’s atmosphere 82 kilometres up, more or less above the centre of the province of Cáceres (Extremadura). It quickly ignited owing to the speed it was travelling through the atmosphere, burning so brightly that it was visible within a radius of 400 kilometres.

Heading north-east it burnt out 34 kilometres up above Ciudad Real, completely desintegrating before it reached the ground.

(News: Spain)