I saw a falling star, but it was odd, it exploded in the sky, why?

Question

normally when I see them they are a stream of light, that gradually flickers out on the horizon,, but this one blew up, it was HUGE.
was this a falling star after all????

Answer 1

The bigger ones can sometimes do that. It is quite rare, so you are really lucky! I have only seen that once in my life.

Answer 2

If the object was large enough and slowed down by the explosion, You may be lucky enough to find some of the pieces. Go back where you were last night and triangulate with anyone else who saw the same thing. Lay out sticks in the direction each person saw the object then point up ad determine the height with the angle you are pointing.
Consider which way the object was moving and go for a picnic in that direction. If there were other people far away that saw the same thing. Go get their pointers. Zero in and you may find yourself a piece of the early solar system. You are looking for dark brown to jet black rock with inward curves Should be very heavy for its size. Good luck.

Answer 3

When asteroids fly through the atmosphere, they rapidly heat up from the traction in flying through the air. Usually the rocks just fizzle out and turn to dust, which would explain the usual flickers.

Sometimes, though, the rocks are a lot larger than usual, and the immediate burst of flame as they first hit the atmosphere would be because of a larger reaction than one would see from smaller rocks. Also, the rock could have been composed of a larger quantity of elements that blow up easier.

Answer 4

Hi,
They are called Bolides.
These are large pieces of rock that explode in the air. As they are falling, the gasses build up in side them and they explode from the pressure. Some of these (and they are rare) have been know to explode with such force that it has been herd of several mile away and in one or two place over the pass few hundred years has taken out forest with the force of the blast.
Hope this has help answer the question.

Answer 5

I believe those are called "bolides".

They are made of pieces big and weak enough that the forces of the atmosphere can break them apart before they slow down too much.  When they do, they hit a lot more air so they become much brighter and also slow down much faster.  The result is a "fireball".

Answer 6

I believe those are called "bolides".

They are made of pieces big and weak enough that the forces of the atmosphere can break them apart before they slow down too much. When they do, they hit a lot more air so they become much brighter and also slow down much faster. The result is a "fireball".

Answer 7

All stars do that. When a star gets hot enough it blows up. Usually this doesn't make sense but Blue stars are hotter then Red stars.

Answer 8

It was a meteorite breaking up due the stress of entry into the Earth's atmosphere, I once saw what you described, it was awesome.

Answer 9

Yes. It is called a bolide. The Perseids have lots of those.

Answer 10

probably hitting the atmosphere. Many asteroids are pores