Archive · 5 Nov 2025
Comet fragment explodes over Portugal at 81,000 km/hr
Imagine a tiny piece of an icy space rock, like a giant snowball from far away, zooming towards Earth really, really fast – about 81,000 kilometers every hour!
When it hit our sky over Portugal, it glowed super bright and then went *boom* high up in the air.
Scientists have cameras that watch the sky, and they saw this bright flash.
They think this space snowball was part of a comet.
They also saw another shooting star nearby, but they think it was just a coincidence and not related to the comet piece.
This happens sometimes because Earth is like a big catcher's mitt, and sometimes we run into space dust and rocks, especially when there are meteor showers happening, like the Taurids or Leonids.
A comet fragment exploded over Portugal, creating a bright flash of light in the sky.
The event occurred on November 2, 2025, at 8:41 PM local time.
The fragment entered the atmosphere at an altitude of 97 kilometers and exploded at 43 kilometers, traveling at 81,000 km/hr.
A meteor detection station in Spain, part of the ESA's Planetary Defence Office network, recorded the event.
A second, unrelated meteor was observed near the area; the fragment is believed to have been captured as Earth passed through its path.
- Who
- A fragment of a comet
- What
- Entered Earth's atmosphere and exploded, creating a bright flash of light. A second, unrelated meteor was also recorded nearby.
- When
- November 2, 2025, at 8:41 PM local time
- Where
- Over central Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula, detected by a station in Spain
- Why
- The fragment was captured as Earth passed through its path, a phenomenon occurring during ongoing meteor showers like the Southern Taurids.
One Meteor
Two Meteors
Relationship between the two observed phenomena
One Meteor
The second meteor observed near the area is believed to be unrelated to the comet fragment.
Two Meteors
Two meteors were observed in proximity, though their trajectories differ.
- Date
- November 2, 2025
- Time
- 8:41 PM local time
- Location of entry
- Above Lousã, central Portugal
- Explosion altitude
- 43 kilometers
- Speed
- 81,000 km/hr
- Recording station
- Casas de Millán, Cáceres, Spain (AllSky7 network)