"Fireball Nearly the Size of the Moon" Meteor Sightings Flood in on the Morning of the 23rd... Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute "Confirming"

Meteor footage/Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] On the morning of the 23rd, there have been continued eyewitness reports of an object presumed to be a meteorite falling. The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) stated that they are currently verifying the reports after receiving related complaints.

On that day, several posts claiming to have witnessed a meteorite appeared on Twitter and other social media platforms.

Netizen A wrote on their Twitter, "Around 1:38 to 1:39 a.m., I saw a large bright light descending in the night sky over Bukahyeon-dong, Seoul," adding, "For a moment, I thought fireworks were being set off." They further added, "It wasn’t a meteorite but an incredibly large bright light."

Netizen B also said, "A light brighter and bigger than a meteorite descended."

Other eyewitness accounts included, "I saw a meteorite in Incheon. It fell green and disappeared with an orange glow," and "It came down sky-blue and exploded orange before vanishing." Around 2:20 a.m., the keyword 'meteorite' also appeared on real-time search rankings on portal sites.

Lee Ju-yeon (21), who lives in Sejong City, told Yonhap News in an interview that day, "I was lying on my bed chatting with friends when suddenly a loud bang was heard outside, and the surroundings instantly lit up like a flash," adding, "A fireball about the size of the moon fell, but it was so sudden that I couldn’t even take a photo."

According to Yonhap News, a KASI official said, "We received a complaint from someone living in the Gyeonggi area who also saw a space object about the size of the moon," adding, "We are checking whether there have been any reports to the Space Surveillance Center."

Another official said, "We received a complaint about a large meteorite seen in the Gwangju area of Gyeonggi and checked, but there were no reports to the Space Surveillance Center. Although we did not see it directly, judging by the appearance of the object, it is highly likely to have been a meteorite," adding, "Meteorites are not rare astronomical phenomena, but it is uncommon for them to fall near densely populated residential areas, so it is presumed that many people witnessed it."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.