Bright meteor shoots across night sky over Iowa, photo shows. Why is it green?
.png "A meteor recently shot across the night sky over Iowa, burning bright enough to be seen from neighboring states. Dan B. captured this photo of the fireball in northwest Missouri on Saturday, Oct. 30.")
A fireball shot across the night sky over Iowa recently, its neon green hue so bright it was seen in at least seven states.
The meteor entered the earth’s atmosphere 60 miles above the small town of Reinbeck, around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30, according to NASA.
Moving south at 87,000 mph, the space-faring rock burned out brilliantly in just three seconds, NASA said. In that time, it traveled 73 miles, then “disintegrated” high above Oskaloosa.
A man in northwest Missouri captured the fireball’s descent, its bluish-green trail zipping past like a sci-fi laser, the photo shared by the American Meteor Society shows.
The AMS is a not-for-profit organization made up of professional astronomers and enthusiasts who, among other things, monitor and report meteor sightings, the website says.
Meteors come in a variety of colors, from yellows, oranges and reds, to blues, greens and purples, according to NASA.
So what does Iowa’s recent fireball owe its color to?
It could be that the fast-moving rock was made primarily of magnesium, an element known to glow green as it burns up in the atmosphere, according to AccuWeather.
A meteor with high iron content will likely light up yellow, while calcium blazes purple, sodium burns orange, and fireballs with a lot of nitrogen or oxygen are reddish in appearance, according to the outlet.
But speed is also a factor, the American Meteor Society says.
“Among fainter objects, it seems to be reported that slow meteors are red or orange, while fast meteors frequently have a blue color.”
Upon entering the atmosphere, meteors move anywhere between 25,000 to 160,000 mph, according to the AMS.
As of Monday afternoon, at least 94 people had reported spotting the Oct. 30 meteor to the AMS, including sightings as far north as Minnesota, and as far south as Arkansas.
This story was originally published November 1, 2021 at 1:33 PM with the headline "Bright meteor shoots across night sky over Iowa, photo shows. Why is it green?."