Ammon News - Skygazers in Portugal and Spain were in for a shock at the weekend, when a bright green fireball lit up the skies above them.

The bright comet fragment appeared late on Saturday, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).

One Lisbon resident said the dazzling display 'felt like a movie'.

On Sunday morning, the ESA shared on X a video captured by its 'fireball camera' of what it described as a 'stunning meteor' over the skies of the western Spanish city of Caceres, near the Portuguese border.

But it later said it appeared to be a 'small piece of a comet' and not a meteor, estimating it flew over Spain and Portugal at a speed of 28 miles (45 km) per second before burning up over the Atlantic.

'The likelihood of any meteorites being found is very low,' the ESA said.

In both countries, videos shot in several cities and towns went viral on social media, showing the object crossing the night sky at high speed and illuminating it in bright tones of blue and green.

The Spanish Calar Alto astronomical observatory also said a preliminary analysis by Andalusia's Institute of Astrophysics revealed the object had a 'cometary origin'.

Daily Mail