A massive airborne explosion believed to be a meteorite was caught on camera yesterday in Bangkok, taking residents of the Thai capital by surprise.
In the viral footage of the incident, a green-and-orange fireball trailing white smoke lit up the Bangkok sky during yesterday morning's rush hour around 8:45am local time, according to Thai PBS.
While commuters in Bangkok reported the explosion came with no audible sound, residents in Sisawat District of Kanchanaburi province, 200 kilometers away, heard thunderous noises as the object fell to earth. Rumors that the fireball might have been a plane crash were quickly dispelled by the Aeronautical Radio of Thailand.
In a country as superstitious as Thailand, some are taking the meteorite as a bad omen. “It was a bad sign showing that the country and the government is in chaos,” wrote Thai Facebook user Dilok Jartaradilok, possibly referring to the recent bombing and Thailand's political troubles.
According to astronomy experts, however, occurrences like the falling meteorite are fairly standard. Meteor showers and other debris from space routinely enters the atmosphere, however the size and brightness of this explosion suggest a particularly large meteorite.
No injuries have been reported in Bangkok. Though on a much smaller scale, the incident in the Thai capital is not unlike the Chelyabinsk meteorite that streaked across Russians skies in February 2013, injuring an estimated 1,200 residents.
