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On Sunday morning, the ESA shared on X a video captured by its
"fireball camera" of what it described as a "stunning meteor"
over the skies of the western Spanish city of Caceres, near the
Portuguese border.
But it later said it appeared to be a "small piece of a comet"
and not a meteor, estimating it flew over Spain and Portugal at
a speed of 45 km (28 miles) per second before burning up over
the Atlantic.
"The likelihood of any meteorites being found is very low," the
ESA said.
In both countries, videos shot in several cities and towns went
viral on social media, showing the object crossing the night sky
at high speed and illuminating it in bright tones of blue and
green.
The Spanish Calar Alto astronomical observatory also said a
preliminary analysis by Andalusia's Institute of Astrophysics
revealed the object had a "cometary origin".
During a concert in the Portuguese city of Barcelos, the object
was filmed streaking across the sky as the singer performed.
Another video showed the skies of Porto, Portugal's second
biggest city, turning bright for a few seconds.
Many contacted emergency services to report what happened. A
spokesperson for the Spanish Emergency service 112, in Madrid,
told Europa Press news agency it had received several calls.
Lisbon resident Bernardo Taborda, 31, told Reuters he was
walking around the city with friends when the sky suddenly
turned bright green: "It almost looked like daylight ... we all
looked back and saw it."
"It felt like a movie, we all looked at each other and we were
stunned," Taborda said. "It was amazing."
(Reporting by Catarina Demony and Ana Cantero; Additional
reporting by Eleanor Whalley and Kinda Makieh; Editing by Giles
Elgood)
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