Meteors above the Mayon volcano, in central Philippines, appeared on the evening of Sunday, May 25. At that time, red-hot lava was flowing from the active volcano.
Videos showed a meteor exploding in the sky above the erupting volcano. Initial reports suggested that the space object might have struck the flaming mountain slopes, but later experts denied this version.
According to the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), the meteor was observed above the Mayon volcano, located in Albay province, Luzon island. The phenomenon was recorded on May 25 at 22:33 local time (17:33 Lithuanian time).
The bright flash lasted a little over a second. It was captured by two live broadcasts monitoring the ongoing Mayon eruption. This 2463-meter-high volcano began erupting in early January, according to a Smithsonian Institution report.
In the video recorded by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), the phenomenon is seen in black and white: a bright flash appears near the mountain peak, illuminated by glowing lava.
In the second published video, color footage captured by live broadcast specialists from “afarTV” shows the red glow of erupting magma and the emerald light of the meteor flying across the sky. At the end of the recording, a small light rising near the meteor’s trajectory can also be seen. According to “afarTV,” it is believed to be the light of a satellite, unrelated to the meteor.
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Based on similar previous observations, it is likely that the green hue of the meteor could have been caused by a higher concentration of nickel in the space object.
Did not hit the volcano
PHIVOLCS representatives initially announced that the meteor seen in their footage struck the northern slopes of the volcano. However, later, after updating the initial recording, it was clarified that the review of seismic, infrasound, and additional cameras installed around the volcano showed that the meteor disintegrated in the atmosphere and did not hit the slopes of Mayon.
According to some calculations, if the meteor had struck Mayon immediately after it lit up, the impact force could have equaled the explosion of 7,500 tons of dynamite. According to the Philippine news agency, if these calculations are accurate, the meteorite impact would likely have caused large rockfalls, which would have been recorded by seismic sensors installed around the volcano.
Even without the impact, these two simultaneously recorded natural phenomena – the erupting volcano and the meteor exploding above it – are an extremely rare coincidence.
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