Photo: Screenshot from media reports
After a "fireball" streaked across the sky over Maoming, South China's Guangdong Province, and nearby areas on Wednesday night, illuminating the sky like daytime, an astronomer from the National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that the phenomenon illuminating Maoming's night sky was a fireball meteor, according to the China News Service on Thursday.
Around 9:33 pm on Wednesday, multiple netizens in the city reported seeing a fireball streak across the sky, which suddenly lit up the surroundings accompanied by a loud bang, according to the report.
Some netizens suggested this was likely a fireball meteor event of significant scale, visible not only in western Guangdong but also in northern parts of South China's Hainan Province, the report said.
Gou Lijun, an astronomer from the National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the phenomenon illuminating Maoming's night sky was a fireball meteor, the China News Service reported.
When cosmic dust, small particles or minor asteroids enter Earth's atmosphere, friction causes them to ignite, Gou explained. He added that most fireball meteors typically burn up completely before reaching the ground, said the report.
A staff member from Maoming's emergency management bureau told the Global Times on Thursday that, based on assessments by relevant departments, the fireball was most likely a bolide.
No accidents or casualties occurred, the staff member confirmed.
The bureau also noted that no abnormal reports had been received so far and advised citizens not to panic.
