'Sky went totally bright': Huge fireball spotted over Japan, it made 'rumbling noise'

A dazzling ‘fireball’ was seen lighting up in the sky across the large areas of western Japan on November 29 causing a stir on social media. As per reports, it is believed to be a bolide, which is a type of a shooting star and is often compared to the appearance of a full moon for its brightness, was evidently spotted even in some parts of central Japan. Several internet users were able to capture the ‘fireball’ that lit up the sky reportedly around 1:35 AM (local time) on Sunday morning. 

While some onlookers said it made a “rumbling noise” to another saying the “sky went totally bright”. As per Kyodo News report, the director of the Akashi Municipal Planetarium in Hyogo Prefecture where the fireball was seen, said shooting stars brighter than Venus are often known as bolides but acknowledged that it was ‘rare’ for them to be as bright as it was spotted on November 29. He added, “We believe the last burst of light was as bright as the full moon”.

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Similar shooting star spotted in July

Even in July, this year, a similar bright shooting star was observed moving from southwest to northeast in the sky mainly above Tokyo. However, it was later identified as a meteor following the discovery of its fragments in the nearby Chiba Prefecture. The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan reportedly has also said that several fireballs are observed over the country throughout the year but it is a rare occurrence for people to hear anything. 
 
According to the explanation provided by the International Meteor Organisation (IMO), fireballs are basically meteors that are unusually bright. It further said “as the size of these objects approaches a millimetre, they begin to produce enough light to be seen upon entry to the upper atmosphere as ordinary meteors. Due to the velocity at which they strike the Earth’s atmosphere, fragments larger than 1 millimetre have the capability to produce a bright flash as they streak through the heavens above.”

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