Photo captures green fireball shooting past Venus and a 3-day-old moon

From Country Living

When it comes to fantastic sights, then space offers some of the most astounding to behold, from the Northern Lights and shooting stars to solar eclipses and stellar constellations.

One recent extraordinary space phenomenon was captured by photographer Uwe Reichert – and it’s certainly impressive to see.

His image reveals the rare moment a bright fireball lit up the night sky in Belgiumalongside a shining Venus and three-day-old moon.

Reichert, editor-in-chief at Sterne und Weltraum, took the photograph near his home in Heidelberg, Germany, on Saturday June 16, 2018, stating: “I caught it with my camera when I imaged the conjunction of the 3-day old Moon and Venus.”

Starting out taking snaps in his back garden, the photographer ended up on the edges of the town to get a better celestial shot. As he pressed the button on his 100-400mm telephoto lens camera, something burning bright started falling from the sky. It transformed from white to green as it moved at high speed in the night sky, before splitting apart and fading out over the horizon.

According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the speed of the fireball and the narrow angle under which the sparkles spread ruled out the possibility of it being fireworks. The falling object even seemed to pierce the clouds as it moved, suggesting its physical impact.

It turns out the fireball was falling over Belgium, around 230 kilometres away from Reichert’s position, determined with the help of his special photo and other observers of the spectacular event.

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