The recent celestial events have been truly breathtaking, from the U.S. experiencing its darkest total solar eclipse in 217 years to the dazzling T Coronae Borealis burst. Yet, the latest spectacle, seen in Portugal and Spain, feels straight out of a sci-fi movie. Milena Refacho, a resident of Portugal, inadvertently captured an extraordinary event on video: a comet fragment streaking across the night sky, lighting it up with a stunning blue hue.

Our solar system is teeming with remnants from its ancient formation, including over 1.3 million known asteroids and more than 3,800 comets. These cosmic travelers range from tiny dust grains to massive rocks and occasionally enter Earth’s atmosphere. When this happens, they create spectacular meteor showers or, as seen recently, brilliant fireballs.

Asteroids, which are typically rocky or metallic and larger than one meter, orbit the Sun and have remained relatively unchanged, serving as windows into the early solar system. Smaller objects, known as meteoroids, become meteors when they burn up in the atmosphere. If they survive the fiery descent and hit the ground, they are termed meteorites.

Comets, composed of ice and dust, originate in the outer reaches of the solar system. When fragments of these comets enter our atmosphere at high speeds, they can produce dazzling displays. This was the case with the comet fragment that Milena Refacho recorded—a piece blazing through the sky over the Atlantic Ocean and creating a spectacular blue trail.
Check the video: