Fireball over Cape San Blas

Fireball over Cape San Blas

Image Credit & Copyright:
Jason Rice

Explanation:
Have you ever seen a fireball?

In astronomy, a
fireball is a very bright
meteor — one at least as bright as
Venus and possibly brighter than even a
full Moon.

Fireballs are rare —
if you see one you are likely to
remember it for your whole life.

Physically, a
fireball is a small rock that
originated from an
asteroid or
comet that typically leaves a fading smoke
trail of gas and dust as it
shoots through the
Earth’s atmosphere.

It is unlikely that any single large ground strike occurred — much of the rock likely vaporized as it broke up into many small pieces.

The featured picture was
captured last week from a deadwood beach in
Cape San Blas,
Florida,
USA.