Green bolide blazes across Taitung skies

Taipei, Dec. 17 (CNA) A green bolide streaked across the night sky over Yakou, a section of the Southern Cross-Island Highway in Taitung County, on Tuesday, briefly setting the clouds aglow.

Spectators captured screenshots of the rare sight from live footage on YouTube, streamed by Taitung County government from in front of Yakou Daguan Mountain Tunnel.

Pu Min-cheng (卜敏正), director of Taitung County’s Transportation and Tourism Department, told CNA that the object was a bolide, an exceptionally bright meteor caused by a large meteoroid (usually more than 1 meter in diameter) entering Earth’s atmosphere.

As they rake through the atmosphere, bolides blaze brightly, sometimes producing sonic booms, before exploding and leaving a glowing trail across the sky, Pu said. They can also be so bright as to be sometimes visible even during the day.

Bolides are typically brighter and longer-lasting than ordinary meteors, Pu added.

Previous live footage from the East Coast National Scenic Area has captured bolides streaking over the ocean’s surface, but this one lit up the clouds.