SOCHI, December 8. /TASS/. A bright flash seen over Russia’s resort city of Sochi, which locals believed to be a falling meteorite, was caused by a bolide, a celestial body entering the atmosphere, Head of the Kuban State University Observatory Alexander Ivanov told TASS on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, a bright flash appeared in the sky over Sochi, with locals and visitors to the city assuming that it was a falling meteorite.
"If one looks at the general form, this phenomenon is called a bolide. A meteor has a weakly visible brightness, like Jupiter or Saturn. And if <…> it is as bright as Venus or even brighter, then this phenomenon is called a bolide," the Russian scientist explained.
The bolide darted across the sky in the eastern and southeastern parts of the city, according to the expert. Apparently, the phenomenon is connected with the season of a powerful meteor shower called the Geminids. It lasts from December 4 to 17, with its peak on December 14. "Some huge fragments can already be flying into the atmosphere," Ivanov mentioned.
This mysterious phenomenon will be monitored and examined by the internal bolide network. According to the Russian scientist, you can currently observe the bolides from different angles thanks to video control cameras. Overall, as much as 300 tonnes of meteor substance falls towards the Earth daily.