NASA warned Cyprus meteorite crash phenomenon could happen

NASA had warned that an astronomical phenomenon, such as the one that took place last Friday in Cyprus, could happen, astrophysicist Chrysanthos Fakas has told SigmaLive on Friday.

“Any Cypriots who had the chance to see this show will remember it forever. Information had varied, but all sources had been talking about large blue light accompanied by a humming, which after of 2-2.5 minutes ended in a large bang. These are all indications that a meteor entered and “traveled” in Earth’s atmosphere. Once again our atmosphere proved reliable and a timeless guard, which using the laws of physics, always manages to defend against intruders,” Fakas said.

Had the intruder been predicted?

Fakas mentioned that NASA had warned about the phenomenon, as the Perseids meteor shower was expected to be more intense this year, with approximately 200 meteorites falling an hour.

The reason for the intensified Perseids meteor shower, Fakas said, is due to the gravity of Jupiter, which brings the Swift-Tuttle comet and the Earth closer together, in turn making the Earth’s atmosphere absorbed more ‘shooting stars’.

Fakas added that this is connected to the meteorite, “if we take into consideration that our planet was in the path of meteorites until a few days ago.” The Earth had exited the Perseids shower on August 24, he mentioned.

The possible locations where the meteorite could have fallen, Fakas said, are two.

Fakas mentioned that the meteorite could have fallen in the sea just north of Morphou, or it dissolved in the Earth’s atmosphere.

The astrophysicist has said that the possibility that the meteorite reached the sea in very small, as that would have surely been visible by many.

He added that the Earth’s atmosphere is very dense, causing anything to enter to be eaten, therefore acting as the planet’s protection.

The meteorite had fallen last Friday and Cyprus is still awaiting photographs of the phenomenon to be released.