At around 5am on February 11, a strange object was seen in the night sky. Far from being the only such phenomenon in the area, Singaporeans were treated to the Quadrantids meteor shower as recently as early January. This object, however, was considerably larger and brighter and appeared to be a green fireball that fizzled out seconds after it had appeared.
YouTube user, Violet Crystal, uploaded a video to her channel taken from her vehicle’s dashcam. The footage shows a large, bright object originating near the top of the frame and traveling diagonally until it peters out near the horizon.
Several bright flashes seem to occur as it exits and reenters cloud cover. According to reports, Violet Crystal was driving to her home at Choa Chu Kang at the time. The object also seemed to flicker intensely throughout its descent.
The sighting was reported by many people in both Singapore and Malaysia. Social media lit up with similar eyewitness accounts from the area.
Witness Reports
Facebook user Izzat Asyraf Nahrawi wrote: “Saw this at Loyang at 5am! Same timestamp! I thought Singapore was under attack! Phew, thank god it wasn’t a hallucination”
Another user, Claudia Jiang, reported seeing the object facing the East Coast closer to 6:40am.
Users reports spanned the areas of Loyang, Bartley, and Hougang.
What Was it?
Experts examining the footage believe it was most likely a fireball. Fireballs, in the technical sense, are exceptionally bright meteors that often can be seen in the morning and evening skies. The rule of thumb for fireballs is that they appear as bright or brighter than the planet Venus to the naked eye.
This particular fireball had a distinctively green hue as it was burning up, indicating the presence of Nickel in its makeup. The vast majority of fireballs occur in uninhabited areas and over oceans. Furthermore, they’re nigh-impossible to spot during daylight hours, making this a rare phenomenon.
The Singapore object has all the markings of a fireball but no record of it was found at NASA or the European Space Agency. The International Meteor Society cataloged four reported sightings of the fireball from the Johor region.
A Singaporean amateur astronomers’ community, Astronomy.SG, had the following to say about the event:
“Our team was unaware of any such incident until recently. From the video evidence, we cannot confirm the nature of the object. We do not have hard proof that it did hit the ground and there is no data from NASA and the ESA confirming it is a meteorite at this present moment. Our best guess is that it is a meteor that burned up before hitting land, or a fragment of a larger meteorite that entered the atmosphere”
Possible Future Sightings?
Unfortunately, the likelihood of another fireball occurring is impossible to predict with any accuracy. If you’re hoping to see one, your best bet is to make a habit of gazing at the evening and morning skies.
However, if you’re looking to catch some meteors, you won’t have to wait long. The Lyrids meteor shower will peak in late-April over Singapore and Malaysia offering plenty of opportunities to witness one.