Meteoroid skims Earth’s atmosphere, flying low over the Netherlands

In the early hours of Tuesday, September 22, a meteoroid was spotted flying over Germany and the Netherlands, getting as low as 91 kilometres before “bouncing” back into space. 

Meteoroid spotted in the Netherlands

The European Space Agency (ESA) announced on Thursday that the meteor had been spotted by cameras in the Global Meteor Network, and explained that most meteoroids disintegrate as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

However, this meteoroid had a lucky escape, grazing the edges of our atmosphere before returning to space. It got as low as 91 kilometres away from the Earth - significantly closer than any orbiting satellites - before continuing with its journey. 

The meteoroid entered the atmosphere over Germany, reaching its lowest point over the province of Friesland. A number of people in the north of the Netherlands managed to get snaps of it, and the ESA noted that it was exceedingly rare for meteoroids to be captured so clearly on camera.