An inexplicable fireball captured blazing above the skies of Bangkok has ignited speculation about what exactly the mystery object is.
A bright white light was filmed plummeting from the sky at 08:41 am local time, before seemingly exploding and leaving behind a plume of white smoke. The mysterious sighting prompted a flurry of theories on social media, with suggestions ranging from space debris to a crashing spacecraft.
However, astronomers have said the most likely culprit is a "bolide": a meteor burning up and disintegrating as it enters the Earth's atmosphere. Although uncommon, bolides are an entirely natural phenomenon. Whereas these types of meteors typically burn up in space, they sometimes enter the atmosphere as fireballs -- with this one estimated to be travelling at around 50 miles per second.
In February 2013, the Chelyabinsk "superbolide" streaked across the sky over Russia, giving out light that was brighter than the Sun. But fortunately for us Earth-dwellers, these meteors burn themselves up before they can do any damage.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
