19 May, 2024 @ 12:55
1 min read

WATCH: Huge fireball ‘meteor’ is spotted in the skies above Spain and Portugal after entering the atmosphere at 160,000km/hr – so did YOU see it?

A HUGE fireball has been spotted flying above southern and central Spain and parts of Portugal.

The Calar Alto Observatory in Gergal, Almeria, confirmed the passing of the ‘meteor’ in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The scientific outpost said the ‘really large fireball’ crossed the skies of both Spain and Portugal at around 12.46am.

The alien object was also detected by several other observatories, including in Toledo, Huelva, Sierra Nevada in Granada, Sevilla and Tarragona.

READ MORE: This is when and how the Gibraltar Strait will disappear, according to scientists

Scientists branded the event as ‘spectacular’, while many took to social media to share videos and pictures of the moment.

According to the preliminary analysis carried out by Professor José María Madiedo (Andalusian Institute of Astrophysics IAA-CSIC), the object had a cometary origin, and entered the atmosphere at a speed of 161,000km/hr .

It began to ignite some 122km above sea level, before going dark at around 54km.

The Calar Alto detection station (CAHA), together with the station that the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC) has in Sierra Nevada, and others located in different parts of Spain, are part of the Smart project led by Madiedo.

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

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