The Case of the Mysterious Maybe Meteor
Image Credit & Copyright:
Video Credit:
Juan Pablo Castañeda
Whatdunit?
What disappeared while crossing a partially eclipsed Sun? Let’s present the evidence.
The 24 frames-per-second video was taken in Spain (40°34'30.3"N 1°12'28.8"W) at 20:28
local time on August 12, 2026. The
Perseids meteor shower
was at its peak during this time. Is this a
meteor?
Meteor showers
trace back to a region of the sky called a
radiant point
that corresponds to where the Earth is
crossing a comet’s path.
The object’s path might trace back to the Perseids’ radiant point in the
Perseus constellation.
The object trails a smaller
angle on the sky
than the 0.5 degree Sun and Moon, which is smaller than expected for a meteor. Its
brightness
does not extend much past the Sun, but a meteor burning up in the sky would not need sunlight to be seen.
Perhaps the sunlight is reflecting off of the object? After cross-referencing the
location, time, and point in the sky
with a
flight database,
the culprit is found to be an
airplane contrail!