Late Sunday Date Ends With Spotted Meteor Blast During the Relaxed Drive Home

Traditionally, a meteorite is a solid piece of space debris that comes from either a comet, an asteroid, or a meteoroid. It is labeled as such if it manages to survive the passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon after initially originating from outer space. As such, this traveling space object that was recently caught on camera doesn’t exactly fit the bill. So, it’s best to just call it a meteor.

That one is the result of the original object’s interaction with the atmosphere, where various factors (friction, pressure, chemical reactions) cause the meteorite to heat up and radiate energy. The ensuing fireball causes the meteorite to disintegrate, thus becoming a meteor. As such, it’s safe to say that what the nice people of Norway that caught this rare event on camera witnessed was a shooting star, not necessarily a meteorite as the title from the good folks over at “ViralHog” might suggest.

But let’s not get caught in the big science of it. The basics are that a late Sunday night out in town was celebrated in a rather unique manner during the drive home. According to the onboard footage, the couple was traveling at around 40 to 50 kph (25 to 31 mph) in a very relaxed manner. Sitting behind what appears to be a Volvo SUV at a very safe distance (we applaud their patience and cautiousness), they witnessed a very interesting phenomenon.

Luckily, everything was also caught on camera, and you can check out the meteor drop unannounced right in front of the car at the 0:35 mark. Apparently, everything happened in Saltrød, Agder, Norway and after investigating a little the witnesses found out the meteorite had around 10 kgs (22 lbs.). Its transformation into a meteor kicked off at around 100 km (62 miles) above sea level, with the final blast taking place just 20 km (12 miles) above the Oslo County of Norway.