2026 Koblenz meteor

2026 Koblenz meteor
CountryGermany
RegionRhineland-Palatinate
Fall date8 March 2026

At 18:55 CET on 8 March 2026, a bright fireball was seen across Western Europe traveling from the southwest.[1] The fireball, caused by a meteor estimated to be up to a few meters in diameter,[2] disintegrated in an air burst at an altitude of about 50 kilometres (31 mi) and scattered meteorite fragments across western Germany.[3] Some falling fragments damaged residential buildings in Koblenz and the Eifel and Hunsrück areas. One fragment smashed a football-sized hole through the roof of a residential building in the district of Güls in Koblenz, damaging a bedroom. Though people were in the building at that time, no injuries were reported.[3][4] Several centimeter-sized fragments were quickly recovered from the damaged building.[5] The recovered fragments were identified as probable chondrites, the most common type of stony meteorite, though definitive identification requires laboratory analysis.[3]

As of 20 March 2026, 3,228 sightings of the fireball were reported to the International Meteor Organization.[1] Emergency phone calls in Koblenz surged following the fireball's passage;[3] local police quickly ruled out a rocket strike or plane crash.[6][7]

See also

  • 2024 BX1 – small asteroid that disintegrated over Berlin in January 2024

References

  1. ^ a b "Events in 2026: 1467–2026". International Meteor Organization. 8 March 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  2. ^ "ESA analysing fireball over Europe on 8 March 2026". ESA. 9 March 2026. Archived from the original on 10 March 2026. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d Kommnick, Bjarne; Toth, Teresa; Banner, Tanja (9 March 2026). "Heller Meteor über Deutschland gesichtet – Himmelskörper oder Weltraumschrott?" (in German). Frankfurter Rundschau. Archived from the original on 8 March 2026. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  4. ^ Beraz, Rafael (8 March 2026). "Nach Einschlag in Koblenz: So sieht der Meteorit aus" (in German). Merkurist. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  5. ^ Mosheim, Maik (8 March 2026). ""Feuerblitz" über Koblenz: Erstes Meteoriten-Stück gefunden" (in German). Focus. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  6. ^ "Teile von Meteorit beschädigen mehrere Häuser" (in German). RTL. 9 March 2026. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  7. ^ "Meteorit beschädigt Häuser in Rheinland-Pfalz" (in German). tagesschau. 9 March 2026. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
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