Meteor spotted entering the atmosphere above Canary Islands

A small meteor was registered entering the atmosphere above the Canary Islands on Thursday morning, causing a fireball that was observed by several people on the islands.

The incident, described as “the visit of a cosmic object” by the Canary Islands Volcanic institute (Involcan), occurred at 2.58 a.m. and caused shock waves strong enough to register on various seismic records. It is believed that the object entered the atmosphere above Tenerife, where it exploded into fragments which also exploded, causing a series of shock waves.

Cosmic particles often enter the earth’s atmosphere, where they explode and cause the phenomenon known as shooting stars. Usually, the particles are very small, about the size of grain of sand, but larger ones may cause shock waves that can cause some damage.