Lights in the night sky...:

Was it a meteorite?

The Universe is full of mysterious and fascinating objects and happenings beyond our imagination. The various new discoveries made through space research never fail to attract our attention and fuel our imagination further.

Recently these was much excitement in some parts of the country with reports flooding in about unusual lights being spotted in the night sky.

Everyone who saw these bright flashes in the night sky was very excited and puzzled as to what they were. Perhaps an alien spacecraft, a crashing planet, severe lightning or a bomb explosion? It was none of these ...

According to those knowledgeable in the field, the illuminations were created by meteoroites. You may be aware that meteoroites are bombarding our Planet Earth all the time. But, as the meteoroites are very small, they don't make any impact. However, the ones that are said to have fallen on June 10 are obviously large enough for us to have seen! It is believed that this could be the first meteor to fall over the last few centuries...

But from where?

So, the Junior Observer decided to investigate... We got in touch with a researcher in Stellar Astrophysics at the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technology (ACCIMT), Indika Medagangoda, to get further details about this matter.

According to him, in all probability it was a meteorite (going by eyewitness reports), but it is not very clear as to what exactly it was. Although there is news that debris from the meteoroite has been found by the residents, there seems to be a reluctance by them to hand them over to the ACCIMT for further analysis. He encourages the residents to hand over any specimens that might reveal vital information regarding many aspects that we do not even know, to the ACCIMT.

It is believed that a meteor has entered the Earth's atmosphere and burst into several pieces at a very high altitude, which explains the sightings and meteorite crashes in several areas of the country.

There have been confirmed reports of unusual sightings over several areas of the island, including Kuliyapitiya, Bingiriya, Andiambalama, Puttalam and Maho. Residents in these areas had spotted a bright light and heard a huge noise along with it.

This unusual light had been observed by residents between 8.30 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. A resident of Bingiriya has stated that he saw an object similar to a fireball falling to the ground from the sky, following the noise. Furthermore, people using mobile phones have also heard a whizzing sound through the phone as well.

Generally, meteor showers are common in one period of the year, but this incident is not such an incident. Since Sri Lankans are not quite familiar with this sort of incident, the ACCIMT requests the public to steer clear of any such unusual objects falling from the sky in the future and avoid a possible collision between the meteoroite and oneself.

They also want people to note down the nature of the incident that they have seen, such as time, direction, rough elevation in which it occurred and other relevant observations. It is recommended not to touch the debris which reaches the ground. The best thing is to inform a responsible person and then inform the nearest university, a recognised scientific centre or ACCIMT to get further instructions.

Aravinda Dassanayake