A bright, white light that sustained itself for a few seconds in the night sky was spotted by many people around Iceland last night.
Even though the much-anticipated meteor shower was last week, there have been some scattered meteorites seen in the night sky as late as last weekend. It appears that one particularly large straggler may have made an appearance last night.
A number of guests at a swimming pool in Dalvík, who were relaxing in a hot tub, bore witness to a large, bright white light in the sky at about 18:30. Elín Björk Unnarsdóttir was one of those witnesses. She told Vísir that she had seen meteor showers before, but had never seen anything like this.
The light was spotted in numerous other places, with most reports coming from the north of the country. However, a father and son in Kópavogur also reported seeing the light, although to them it appeared green. Its brightness, position in the sky, and the amount of time it lasted match the description of the light spotted up north.
Astronomer Sævar Helgi Bragason believes this was an exceptionally large meteorite burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere. Despite the size, he emphasised that there is little worry that a meteorite would strike Iceland.
This is not the first such occurrence in Iceland history. In 2009, a falling meteorite lit up the night sky in south Iceland.
If you have photographed or recorded the falling light seen last night, send your photo(s) or video to editor@grapevine.is along with your full name and where you were when you captured the image.
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