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Bright Fireball Over Berlin Attributed to Small Meteoroid

Experts say the flash was a fast-burning meteoroid with any ground fragments still unconfirmed.

Overview

  • A vivid green fireball seen across Berlin and northeastern Germany Monday evening was captured on a surveillance camera in Rüdersdorf and drew 56 eyewitness reports to the American Meteor Society.
  • Germany’s space tracking center ruled out a falling satellite or other space debris as the cause.
  • DLR planetary geologist Ulrich Köhler said a meteoroid about the size of a football entered the atmosphere at roughly 200,000 km/h.
  • Köhler said the rock likely came from the asteroid belt and broke apart under air pressure, with heated, ionized air creating the long glowing trail.
  • Whether any pieces reached the ground remains unknown, and experts note fireball sightings often rise around the equinox by 10–30% in some years.