Meteor passes over Mexico City followed by loud explosion

A flash accompanied by a crash this morning was recorded in central Mexico at around 1:45 AM, said SkyAlert, which attributed the phenomenon to a possible “fireball or meteor”, but authorities with civil protection warned that so far the causes are unknown.

SkyAlert, an unofficial warning seismic platform, and volcanic and atmospheric phenomena, said through the Twitter network around 01.47 local time (06.47 GMT), “a light was seen and explosion heard,” adding that reports came from Puebla, Mexico City, State of Mexico and Tlaxcala.

“It is very likely that the explosion of the ‘bolide, or meteor’ occurred during its entry into Earth’s atmosphere. No affectations is reported, so it is also likely that it didn’t hit land,” said SkyAlert said.

The Astronomical Society of Puebla stated that “several witnesses speak of a green and white light in the sky, and then an explosion was heard.”

“The explosion does not mean it has impacted on the ground, could explode in the atmosphere,” explained civil association, adding that “is called ‘Meteor’ when it impacts on the ground; if only skims the atmosphere is ‘bolide’ or ‘meteor’ “.

According to the source, “its composition, size and entry angle, is not known but it appears that must have been very small.”

Many users of social networks began to discuss the phenomenon and share photos and videos from different points of Mexico.

“The sky lit up, as if it was lightning, and within seconds an orange object was like a rocket that just explodes and falls,” said Eduardo Bravo, a resident of Puebla who witnessed the phenomenon when he was in his vehicle.

Others were at home, “It sounded as if something had exploded,” said Julian Pena, who was at home.

However, the Civil Protection Municipal of the city of Puebla, the state capital, also tweeted: “We are gathering information so far the explosion sounds and causes are unknown. We will not speculate until we know the cause.

“With data collected by cameras, seismographs and field reviews, we confirm that no damage reported,” he added.

Similarly, the mayor of Puebla, Luis Banck, said the volcano monitoring reports no activity. The city is located 40 kilometers east of the Popocatepetl volcano, which in recent weeks has had intermittent ash emissions.