A meteor lit up the sky over Mount Fuji, Japan, in the early hours of Friday, captured on CCTV by the Hiratsuka City Museum. The fireball briefly illuminated the night sky and left a glowing trail, sparking interest among skywatchers and social media users.
Although the meteor’s appearance was fleeting, it created a striking visual spectacle. It was particularly notable not only for its proximity to Japan’s most iconic volcano, but also for the clarity with which it was recorded. The timing of the event coincided with heightened vigilance in the region, where advanced monitoring systems are in place to track geological and atmospheric activity.
Surveillance Camera Captures Fireball In Real Time
The meteor was filmed by a fixed surveillance camera at the Hiratsuka City Museum, located in Kanagawa Prefecture, not far from the base of Mount Fuji. According to the BBC, the footage shows a bright object entering the frame and flaring as it moves rapidly across the sky, disappearing within seconds.
The video has since circulated widely, with many praising the clarity of the capture. No sound accompanied the footage, and no reports of impact or debris were made. Based on the video, the meteor appears to have burned up entirely in the upper atmosphere.
This kind of documentation is valuable for astronomers and atmospheric scientists. As stated by the same report, such events help in understanding the behavior of meteoroids as they interact with Earth’s atmospheric layers.
Stunning meteor fireball streaks over Mount Fuji. Credit: Japan’s Hiratsuka City Museum
Colors Reveal Meteor’s Chemical Composition
While many meteors glow white as they burn, this particular fireball emitted a range of colors. The variation in hue depends on the elements present in the material, examples include sodium, which produces a yellow glow, and magnesium, which can emit blue or green.
This multicolored flare gave the sighting its vivid impact. The colors are caused by the ionization of specific atoms as the meteor reaches intense speeds and temperatures during entry. Although brief, the light trail acts like a fingerprint of the meteor’s composition, providing clues about its origin.
No official analysis has yet confirmed the specific composition of this fireball. Still, its bright, colored trail suggests a complex mix of materials that likely originated from a natural celestial object, most likely a small rock or particle entering Earth’s atmosphere.
Fuji Region Under Constant Observation
The area surrounding Mount Fuji is under constant surveillance due to the volcano’s history and potential threat. While the meteor itself posed no danger, it was detected thanks to the same monitoring infrastructure designed to alert authorities to volcanic or seismic activity.
As noted by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the video, Japan has invested heavily in surveillance technologies, including fixed cameras and AI-powered video analysis systems, particularly in areas near active geological sites. Originally designed to monitor changes at ground level, these systems are now increasingly capturing atmospheric phenomena such as meteors.
AloJapan.com