"It wouldn't have weighed any more than a few kilos," Ioannis Fakas, the honorary chairman of the Cyprus astronomical society, told the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation. "When it crossed Cyprus it exploded."
According to the specialist, it had a 45 degree tilt, and a bang could be heard as the meteorite passed over Cyprus. Meteorite fragments could have fallen into the sea to the north of Cyprus, Fakas added.
The event was recorded on a video by security cameras in Paphos: the meteor could be seen in the reflection of a car.
Around 0.45 local time, residents of several villages in the Troodos mountain range saw a strange object in the sky, heard a deafening sound and felt the earth shake for miles around after its fall, reported local newspaper Cyprus Mail. Police reported they received a number of calls. Some people thought the sound was a firework or a thunderstorm.
🇨🇾 Mysterious blue glow over #Cyprus at 2am. #Meteorite, #Space Junk, Unarmed Missile? Some felt a vibration. @NASA pic.twitter.com/ZRzenX7cnr
— Mario Hajiloizis (@mhajiloizis) 9 сентября 2016 г.
Just saw a very bright meteorite (?) from Israel in the heading of Cyprus. Somebody can confirm? | No text found #astronomy
— Voyager Three (@voyagerthreebot) 2 августа 2016 г.
After it became known what kind of "explosion" it had been, internet users started excitedly sharing their comments on social media, some of them even with a bit of humor:
A meteor fell on mountain #troodos in #cyprus so either superman or the apocalypse started and I ain't ready for neither #nope
— Disguised Activist (@Girl_into_Dark) 9 сентября 2016 г.
@eevriviades I think it's obvious what's happened here… Afroditi pulled in for a visit. Checking if her home is still standing;))
— Achilles9 (@demetri99) 9 сентября 2016 г.
