Surreal video of a giant blue fireball lighting up Europe at night accidentally caught on camera

While many find peace in sky-gazing, some revel in witnessing rare cosmic events like unexpected meteor showers, rare eclipses, or dazzling auroras. One such stunning event, a huge blue fireball, lit up the night sky over Spain and Portugal, leaving people in awe. Portuguese girl Milena Refacho (@milarefacho) accidentally captured this phenomenon on camera, and the internet went wild for it.

Refacho, not expecting a fireball, casually turned on her camera at a lower angle to capture herself. Suddenly, a giant blue fireball shot across the sky at incredible speed, lighting up the night like daytime. Refacho's jaw-dropping reaction and the clamoring of people around her perfectly captured the awe of this astronomical spectacle.  

Refacho's video garnered massive attention on social media with nearly 4 million views on X and several users were in awe of the perfectly candid moment. "She just got one of the greatest videos of the millennium," said @detailsmove. "Once in a hundred lifetimes can a shot be this perfect! World record internet-shattering incredibleness!" exclaimed @ADKRealty. "I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars. We are here. We are waiting," @jimv1181 joked. "It seems to be moving fast for being an asteroid. That is, intreating, a comet fragment? That would be amazing if so!" wondered @kallecent. 

While social media is in utter bewilderment over the incredible sight, the European Space Agency (ESA) revealed the truth behind this rare phenomenon. ESA Operations (@esaoperations) first shared a glimpse of the fireball from Caceres, Spain. They wrote, "ESA’s fireball camera in Cáceres, Spain, spotted this stunning meteor last night! Our Planetary Defence Office is currently analyzing the size and trajectory of the object to assess the chance that any material made it to the surface."

A few hours later, the agency shared an update about what the fireball actually was. "It appears that this object was a small piece of a comet. We estimate that it flew over Spain and Portugal traveling at approximately 45 km/s before burning up over the Atlantic Ocean at an altitude of approximately 60 km. The likelihood of any meteorites being found is very low," the post read. 

In March 2020, a space enthusiast made the most of the opportunity of the Neowise Comet passage to propose to his girlfriend. The comet, which is seen once in 6,800 years, lit up the sky at Crater Lake National Park, Oregon as John Nicotera went down on one knee to ask Erica Lee Nicotera to marry him. "Erica was completely blown away, she had absolutely no idea it was coming at that time. She was in total disbelief, as was I (that it worked out so perfectly as I had hoped). I still can’t believe how everything came together so perfectly, it literally has been a dream come true," the man shared a scene from his memorable day in a conversation with Bored Panda.